Memoirs of a Humble Dancer
by RaiRai92
Summary: Mike has always been one to blend into the crowd, not one to be noticed, but when he meets Kurt, he's inspired to take a chance and be himself and be a better person, and they become best friends. But is that really all there is to it?
1. In the Arms of the Angel

_After watching Season 2, I kept thinking to myself that Mike is one of my favorite characters, but they're butchering his story lines. So I'm giving him a more interesting one. :P The story starts all the way back at Preggers and will develop from there if I feel like this story is worth continuing._

Summary: Mike has always been one to blend into the crowd, not one to be noticed, but when he meets Kurt, he's inspired to take a chance and be himself, and they become best friends. But is that really all there is to it?

_I do not own glee. It would be so awesome if I did._

* * *

I wish I could say that our first meeting was magical. I wish I could say that the stars aligned and spark flew clear across the sky. I wish I could say that the day we first met was absolutely perfect.

Far from it actually.

Being late to school is never easy. On a typical day, I'm usually there with 5-10 minutes to spare, but today, today of all days, when I have 3 tests, 2 quizzes, and 1 pointless emergency football tryout/practice, my alarm clock decides to play a prank on me. So there I was, sprinting to school to catch the first period bell so I can sit in a place that deep fries my brain till it's nothing more than a pile of steaming pan-fried noodles. But hey, who doesn't love a refreshing morning run? I mean all that bobbing and weaving around trash cans, mailboxes, and the occasional dog walker made me feel like I was in some high budget action movie. Psh, I wish. At any rate, I was doing a good job at keeping up my pace, and in a matter of seconds, I could see the institution of torture approaching in the distance.

Now this next part's kinda fuzzy actually. I mean it's understandable considering what happened, but I would have liked to remember at least some of it. At any rate, all I remember from these next few minutes was a loud scream and a large green blur speeding towards me and ramming into my side.

Then I blacked out. Terrific!

At any rate though, it's kinda fun, being delusional. Everything's all blurry and trippy, like one of those kaleidoscopes from the 70's or something. But the way your head feels never ceases to amaze me, like riding a roller coaster or something. It's fun! You should try it sometime.

But alas, the feeling never lasts and eventually the pain does sink in. All I remember is seeing white ceiling times blend in with glaring lights, swirling together hypnotically to make me feel both amazed and nauseous all at the same time. Seriously, I thought I was gonna blow some chunks.

Then something amazing happened.

I sat up, or at least I tried to for some odd reason, and a gentle hand rested on my shoulder and held me down to the bed. A sweet ringing chimed in my ear, and as I turned my head to see where the noise came from, I saw a figure standing over me. As my vision slowly adjusted, I could see a pale figure with a light rosy tint dusting its cheeks, milky chocolate hair framing a fragile face, and tiny yet brilliant sky blue eyes shining in the light. Of course, everything was still a blur, but my mind was still blown by such an amazing image.

"Am I in heaven?" I asked, dumbfounded by the figure that I was thoroughly convinced was an angel leading me away to paradise.

But all I heard was a light chuckle, light as air yet earthy enough to anchor me back to reality. "No, you're in the nurse's –"

I sat up quickly and tried to rub my eyes, but immediately I began to feel a little woozy. The hand that held me earlier once again rested on my shoulder, trying to keep me stable.

"Not so fast, mister! You need to rest-"

Before I knew it, I fell sideways towards and landed on something soft and fuzzy. It was very peculiar, like a cloud, but it smelled like perfume, hairspray, and for some reason, apples. It was nice.

As I opened my eyes, my vision now a lot more focused, I looked up and saw those sky blue eyes staring at me from a much closer distance. As my vision focused a little more, so did my thoughts and I sat up back on the bed, shaking myself awake and looked around.

I was, in fact, in the nurse's office. My stuff was neatly placed in chair in front of my bed, but my backpack had a strange tire mark stained on it. I looked over to the figure that so graciously helped me up and saw that this figure, this angel, was a kid, a petite, sweet smelling kid.

"Are you okay?"

I shook my head again to make sure I was coherent, and also to find my voice that seemed to be jammed in my throat, and meekly answered, "Yeah….ugh what happened?"

The same light chuckle chimed through my ears again. "Like I said before, you're in the nurse's office. You sort of got attacked by a runaway dumpster-"

My heads shot up as I heard this. "Dumpster?"

"Yes, I know it sounds funny, but trust me. I was inside the dumpster when it hit you."

Once again I had to do a double take. Either I misheard the words coming out of his mouth, or I was still delusional. "A dumpster? Why on Earth would you be inside a dumpster?"

"Well it wasn't a personal choice! I was thrown in. The football players, they've sort of made it a ritual to throw me in a dumpster every morning. At least the only things left in there were some apple cores."

I smirked and remembered the 'timeless pastime' that my fellow teammates recently adopted. "Yeah, sorry about that-"

"Oh know it's fine. I'm the one who should be sorry. I was late today, and if I wasn't, they wouldn't have had time to, you know…."

As he said this, I got better look at him and realized my original interpretation of my 'angel' was not too far off. His rosy cheeks contrasted with his moon white skin, which contrasted with his coffee brown hair, which all together made those sky blue eyes shine more brilliantly than I originally perceived.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the old school nurse came waddling in with a cold compress and a thermometer. "Oh good! You're awake."

The boy turned suddenly to the clock on the wall." Oh, well, I can see that I'm no longer needed. I've got to get to class, but feel better, okay? And, once again, I am so sorry about what happened."

And again, before I could say anything, he was gone. But even as he left, and as the nurse started asking her usually arsenal of questions while holding the compress to my head and shoving the thermometer in my mouth, I felt a tiny twinge deep inside my heart. It was faint, miniscule even, but it was there. Then I too looked at the clock and realized that I had my first test of the day next period.

Crap.

* * *

Despite my anxiety for that day and all the treacherous exams that I had to take, it was not a bad day, at all. Everything just seemed so easy and the day seemed to fly by like a gentle breeze in the spring. I should get hit by dumpsters more often. But seriously, though, things just went more smoothly than usual. Everything's a blur, and I don't remember much, but hey, I survived. I do remember going out of my way to look for that kid that rescued me earlier that day. He seemed to have just vanished into thin air, but in any case, I only had football left to worry about that day, which I guess I can handle.

Football's okay, I guess. I'm mostly in it for three reasons though: my parents 'suggested' it to me (which with Asian parents means I was forced/pressured into it), my best friend, Matt Rutherford, is on the team, and I really need something to do in the off season for soccer.

Now soccer is something I absolutely love. The competition is steeper, but my teammates on that team are far more on the ball, no pun intended, and that means much more exciting games. We don't have many fans, but it feels good to play a sport and actually, you know, WIN.

But hey, c'est la vie. We can't all be winners… or competent… or, you know, have a brain….

But anyway, I'm carrying out business as usual: stretches, warm ups, tossing the ball around, and all that jazz. But suddenly I hear a voice, and not just any voice.

I turned around and saw the small petite kid from earlier talking to Coach Tanaka.

"My name is Kurt Hummel, and I want to audition for the role of kicker."

I heard snickers from the guys around me, pointing and making faces, but I just stood there, once again, dumbfounded. Figures that the one place I wouldn't expect to find this kid is right here on the football field.

Then Coach Tanaka yelled something at me and I snapped out of it. "Are you deaf, Chang? Get that ball over here!"

Looking down, I realized I was holding the ball and foolishly walked over. I smiled a hello to the kid, and he looked a little surprised at first and smiled back as I held down the ball on the floor. I looked to the goal posts, expecting him to kick the darn thing, but instead, he walked over to a stereo he brought, presses play, and walks back into position.

It takes a while for the music to start, but, much to my amazement, a familiar beat come on that everybody present instantly recognizes: Single Ladies.

And just when I thought that I couldn't get any more surprised, the kid starts doing the Single Ladies' dance. I was in complete and total shock, partly from the music, partly from the rarity of the entire situation, but mostly because I've never seen such smooth moves from a guy!

As the other guys laughed their lead-based heads off, the kid started dancing closer and closer until-

SMACK

The ball flew across the field, straight through the goal posts and as literally everyone's jaw dropped, the kid turned and asked, "That's good, right?"

MIND OFFICIALLY BLOWN.

* * *

Last-in-last-out. Usually that's my philosophy for locker room change outs. I don't really have anything to hide, but I enjoy my privacy. So I help the equipment-boy bring everything into storage and I usually wait until everyone leaves to start changing. Nor for any reason in particular, but I just really want to avoid conflict.

So I wait in the bathroom, like Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls…. What? It's a good movie.

As usual, soon as everyone's gone, I go to my locker and start shedding the armor when I hear a faint cough from behind me.

It was the kid. He stood there in a very luxurious jacket, very tight skinny jeans, and some very fancy looking boots. I don't remember whether or not he was wearing that outfit this morning, but I gotta say that he looked very stylish. Of course, that's coming from a guy who wears a t-shirt and a hoodie every day.

"Hello. How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

I nodded awkwardly, "Yeah, I'm doing alright. Thanks for, you know, helping me out this morning."

"Oh it's no problem. I mean, I sort of felt like I had to. The jocks usually just toss me in. I guess they felt the need to be extremely obnoxious this morning-"

"Yeah, about that, I'm sorry. Normally I try to get the guys to stop doing that but I was-"

"Preoccupied at the moment?"

I smiled a bit and nodded slightly. I looked down as he chuckled a bit. I don't know what it is about his laugh, but it just makes me feel, I dunno, funny I guess.

"You didn't tell me you were on the football team."

"Well I was a little out of it his morning, but you already know about that, so… um….Those were some pretty good moves out there,"

He smiled a little and a tiny glint in his eyes shimmered for a bit. "Thanks. I've had a little bit of practice."

"Well, I wish I could dance that well after just 'a little bit' of practice."

Another chuckle. "You dance?"

"Um, if you consider what I do in my room dancing, then yes, I do."

He chuckled again. "Well, maybe you can show me what you've got sometime, uh-"

"Mike, Mike Chang."

"Mike. It's nice to meet you. My name's Kurt."

I held out my hand to shake his, and the softness of his skin caught me off guard. It was like clasping silk in the palm of my hand, really high-quality silk.

There was an awkward pause, and he shifted quite a bit. 'Well, I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay. You were sort of delusional this morning. I guess I'll see you around?"

"Um, yeah, see you around."

As he walked towards the door, the twinge in my heart came back.

"You, uh, wanna go grab a pizza or something?" I really don't know where that came from. It just came out.

Kurt looked back and smiled. "Thanks, but I have glee rehearsals in ten. Maybe some other time?"

I nodded as he smiled again and left the room, but as I was left there alone, thinking about that day, I guess I would say it wasn't that bad. Not bad at all.

* * *

_So this is my first FanFic in a while. Tell me what you think please!_


	2. Right Round

_So yeah, I wanted to post this chapter because I was already mostly done with it. Sorry if it seems like it's moving at a snail's pace. I'm just really annoyed with glee right now. Some of the relationships recently *cough chang-chang cough* seem alittle rushed and baseless. So I'm writing a more fitting one, at least in my opinion._

_By the way, I got the idea of Mike being on the Soccer team from broadwaypants' fanfic "Soccer Shorts". Look it up, it's awesome._

_I do not own glee. If I did, well, you wouldn't be reading this, you'd be watching it... in high def... :D_

* * *

Coach Tanaka must have been impressed with Kurt's dancing/football skills, because a couple of days after Kurt's tryout, he made all the guys on the football team learn some dance moves from Mr. Schuester, and I never would have guessed that he was such a good dancer. I mean, I knew he taught glee club, but he's so uptight in Spanish class. I guess first impressions aren't always accurate.

It was kinda awkward, though. Don't get me wrong, I mean, I love to dance. Like I told Kurt, I've been dancing for years; I've just been doing it inside my room all that time. Of course, most of my moves are from movies like _You Got Served_ and _Step Up_. I also did a little kung fu a while ago, and I can still do all the flips and tricking and stuff. Dancing with all the football guys, who were really bad about keeping time and beats, was embarrassing enough, so needless to say I held back a lot. A LOT.

But still, it was my first time ever dancing outside my room, and I've got to say, it was kinda fun. Especially since Kurt was there. He just moves so well… b-but I don't mean that in a, you know … that kind of way. I just really admire his talent. I hear he's got one heck of a voice too.

A few days after the dance lesson, I found myself in the auditorium. Something about looking into the wide open stage and the empty audience seats just called to me, and I wondered how it must feel to dance on stage in front of people. I mean, I'm a pretty shy guy – surprising, right? – And I've always performed in groups, whether it's on a football field, in a group performance for kung fu, or even on the soccer field. The only time I really feel like the spotlights are on me is when I score a goal, and that feels good, one of the best feelings in the world. But I don't think I could ever perform by myself.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder what I'd be like to perform on stage. I walked over to the stereo that I had placed on the auditorium's piano and quickly triple checked that the auditorium was indeed as empty as it was when I had entered. With no one around, I pressed play and went crazy.

It felt good to dance in such an open environment. Doing all the things I practiced in such a small space made me feel like a bird flying free from a cage for the first time. I did my usual pop and lock moves and even threw in some old kung fu moves: aerials, butterfly twists, back flips, you name it. It was definitely better than dancing in a small 15x15 foot bedroom. It felt really really good.

The seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes turned into an hour, and when the tracks finally ended, I lingered for a minute, taking in all the emotions swirling within me. Processing all that joy, releasing my inhibitions like that for the first time, was simply breathtaking.

Then I heard a pair of hands clapping behind me, and much to my surprise, Kurt was sitting on the piano there with an extremely huge grin on his face. I swear this kid must be part ninja or something because that was the third time this kid has caught me off guard that week!

As soon as we made eye contact, my face lit up like the sky on Chinese New Year (way to fit the Asian stereotype, Mike). I was at a complete loss for words. Seriously all I could do was stand there and babble incoherent noises. And he just kept on smiling!

After a few minutes, my voice caught up with me. "H-how long h-have you been s-standing there…" Ugh, I felt like Tina just then.

"Long enough."

I think at that moment my brain went passed being pan-fried and entered the deep fried stage of cooking.

"Y-yeah, I was j-just m-messing around, you know-"

"Psh," he kicked off the piano and slowly inched towards me. "If that's you messing around, I'd absolutely love to see you when you're taking something seriously. Really, I'd even go so far as to pay good money for tickets."

I didn't even need a mirror to know that my head probably could have won the county fair prize for 'Largest Red Hot Chili Pepper'. My face felt like it was literally on fire. Seriously, I kept wishing the smoke alarm would go off or the sprinklers would go off.

"Um… Th-thanks"

Awkward silence. Kurt slowly started to circle me like a jungle cat hunting its prey. "You're welcome. But in all seriousness, you've got some real talent. I mean you pulled off a back flip and some seriously insane dance moves right there without breaking a sweat."

Don't get me wrong, I was flattered, but I REALLY wanted him to stop. I must have been red enough to blend in with the curtains, but my feet must have been hot glued to the floor.

"Yeah well… um…" Its official: my mind was completely blank.

"Have you ever considered joining glee club?" He cocked his head to the side like a puppy does when he's curious about something.

My mind slowly came back to me and I was able to form a sentence. "Um, well, a little bit… maybe…"

"Well you should. We, the New Directions, could really use more guys on the team. I think I'm actually losing brain cells from listening to some of those Cheerios talk."

At this point he must have been three feet away from me. His blue eyes shimmered as they gazed directly into my dark ones. I loosened up a little bit, but I could still feel the burning sensation in my cheeks.

"Well, I guess it could be fun… I'll- I'll think about it."

He raised an eye brow and gazed into my eyes more intently, a light smirk resting on his face. His gaze was like ice cutting through my mind, and again, my mind turned to deep fried mush.

"We have another glee rehearsal on Monday, just in case you were wondering."

He turned sharply on his heel and sauntered across stage. He had a bounce in his step that just exuded joy.

"See you at the game tomorrow!" He didn't even turn around, just kept walking all smooth-like. Somehow that kinda made him a little mysterious.

After he left, my brain slowly started to solidify back into its normal state, and then I got to thinking: about glee club, about performing, about Kurt… again, not in that way, but you know... He's cool.

Maybe I should give glee a shot. Definitely would get me out of the house more… yep, sounds good already.

* * *

_So yeah, another chapter down. Please review and give me criticism and suggestions (would be much appreciated!). _


	3. Defying Gravity

_Wow, once you get me going I really can't stop writing! Yeah, once again, I'm going really slow with this relationship for two reasons: Mike's really shy and needs to gradually come out of his shell (or the closet, whichever comes first) and also Kurt deserves some long drawn out lovey dovey ness :3_

_I'm only updating so fast because it's the weekend and I'm using this as a distraction from actually doing my homework :P _

_Anyway, thanks for all the watches, faves, and reviews, they're very much appreciated!_

_I do not own glee. If I did, well, you know the rest._

* * *

Glee is fun.

I just had to say it. I mean, before this year, Matt's probably the only person who's seen me dance other than my family. Now, I can actually bring myself to dance in front of people and actually feel good about myself. I've actually felt happier than I ever have in all my life. Course, that's not saying much, I'm what, 16? But hey, I've found something that actually takes me somewhere good, somewhere awesome, somewhere safe. I've felt things that most people don't feel in an entire lifetime. It's just so great.

But don't even get me started on the singing, though. I mean the multiple opportunities to dance more than make up for the discomfort I get when I sing, but considering that dancing for me is like crack for other people probably has something to do with that.

I mean at first I was a little intimidated… Scratch that, MAJORLY, MONUMENTALLY, EXTREMELY (I could go on…) intimidated by all the vocal talent contained in that room. I mean if Mercedes and Rachel had a diva battle, I think the entire state of Ohio would explode from the sheer magnitude of even the first two seconds of the performance. And that's just the girls. I mean Artie and Finn can sing. Who knew?

And yeah Kurt's amazing too… and that's all I've got to say about that… yeah…

Needless to say, I'm fortunate enough to have found a new niche without really sacrificing my old one. I mean, no one really noticed me before. Matt and I usually keep to ourselves, so no one really bothered us. Nowadays, people still kinda ignore me, but I got to know Brittany and Santana a little bit better, and they're cool. But in all honesty, nothing's really changed. It's much worse for Finn though. For some reason, he and Puck take all the heat for being glee. Like I said, Matt and I kinda just continued our existence of silence and mystery.

Well at least I did for a while. After a couple of weeks, a couple of Cheerios have been, you know, giving him the old double take. I swear one girl even did that whole 'bend-and-snap' thing from _Legally Blonde _for him (Don't laugh. It's a funny movie.). But at any rate, he's still my best bud. We carry out business as usual: school, football, homework, marathon rounds of _Call of Duty_ and _Halo_ (and the occasional _Pokémon_ for me). So yeah things are good.

Still, though we still hung out, our time together slowly diminished… well not completely, but it significantly decreased, and I was getting kinda lonely. So one Saturday, after my parents left the house for their weekly Mahjong game with the other 5 Asian families in town (typical), I grabbed my stereo and set off for the auditorium to get in some extra practice.

Schools are always so creepily abandoned on weekends, which is understandable, but the feeling never ceases to give me the Willies'. So I walked in through the back doors of the auditorium, and I saw Brad, the school Pianist doing what he does best. I was about to greet him when I heard, yet again, a very familiar voice.

"_Something has changed within me_

_Something is not the same_

_I'm through with playing by the rules _

_Of someone else's game"_

It was Kurt. There he stood facing the empty audience chairs preparing for his diva off with Rachel. I could only see him from behind, but from those four short lines, I could feel the power and passion he was exuding as if I were standing right in front of him.

Brad was about to say something, but I held my finger to my lips and slowly made my way to rest on the piano.

"_Too late for second-guessing_

_Too late to go back to sleep_

_It's time to trust my instincts_

_Close my eyes and leap!_

_It's time to try_

_Defying Gravity_

_I think I'll try _

_Defying Gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity _

_And you won't bring me down!"_

As I stood there I couldn't help but admire how awe-inspiring his voice was. It reminded me of the angelic chime that I first heard that one day in the nurse's office. I don't know what it was, but I was simply hypnotized by the entire song.

"_I'm through accepting limits_

'_Cause someone says they're so_

_Some things I cannot change _

_But till I try, I'll never know!_

_Too long I've been afraid of_

_Losing love I guess I've lost_

_Well, if that's love _

_It comes at much too high a cost!"_

Right after he sang that last line, I really got to thinking. I know I mentioned how all the guys have it rough in glee club, but it just hit me that Kurt must have in the worst. Not just because of the bullying, but because, well, if Kurt ever wanted to love someone and love someone openly, he'd be completely and utterly chastised for it. I mean if that person made him happy, then, I guess he'd be alright, but really, is love really worth the cost of being attacked for it every single day?

Then Kurt let out a jaw dropping note that instantly de-railed my train of thought and sent it hurdling 50-miles off course. That note sent shivers down my spine and just left me standing there in awe. As he finished and took a couple breaths, I instantly started clapping. I didn't even think much about it. My hands just moved by themselves.

"Thanks Brad, you were great as always, but I think we need to run it again; I was a little flat on the first verse-"

Kurt didn't even realize I was there until he was on the opposite side of the piano, facing me and staring doe-eyed straight at me.

"Hello Mike! I didn't hear you come in."

"Hey. Getting in some practice I see."

Kurt let at a light laugh. "Yes, well, I have my work cut out for me. Rachel's going to be one tough act to follow."

"Yeah, but I think you got a shot. Really you blew that one right out of the park."

Kurt lowered his head, laughed a bit, and then slowly looked back up. "Thank you. You're sweet. What brings you here, if you don't mind me asking? It's Saturday."

"Oh well, same as you: just wanted to get some more practice in."

"Oh, well, then, by all means take over, I think I'm just about-"

"No it's cool! I was just gonna goof around and stuff. Please continue."

Kurt looked over to Brad and shook his head. "Actually, I've been here for about two hours, and I think it's about time I release Brad for the day," and at this Brad got up waved goodbye and left the two of us there. Alone. "Thanks Brad!"

As Brad left, Kurt kept looking down, and an awkward silence lingered like a stink bomb on a hot summer day. This time though, it seemed to last forever.

"Speaking of lunch, you wanna go grab a pizza at my house or something?"

Kurt looked up, looking a little bit startled as I think he was day dreaming or something. He definitely had something on his mind, and for some reason, I was curious as to what it was.

"Um, sure, of course. That'd be great."

With that we left the auditorium and made our way to my house in Kurt's sweet Lincoln Navigator. Seriously, that car was insane. The ride was only like 2 minutes, but still, very nice.

We made our way to the kitchen and I stuck an instant pizza in the oven while Kurt poured some sodas from those two-liter bottles. All the while we talked about some minute things: school, glee, music, etc.

I know this hang out session must seem absolutely riveting from the description I'm giving. Trust me, it gets more interesting.

Well anyway, after the pizza was demolished and we watched a few episodes of _Friends_ on TV, I decided to liven up conversation a bit.

"So you seemed a little downcast at the auditorium for a bit…"

Kurt straightened up a bit and turned his head slightly. "Did I?"

"No, I'm just saying that because I like being an instigator."

He giggled a bit and relaxed a little. "Yes, well, I have had something on my mind lately-"

"Spill, dude."

"Well I mean are you really comfortable with hearing my prob-"

"No really you spilled your drink on the coffee table."

Kurt looked to the side and saw a puddle next to a cup that was knocked over by his elbow. He instantly shot his hands for the napkins. "I am so sorry! I didn't notice-"

"It's cool. It's cool. No harm no foul." We spent a couple of minutes awkwardly cleaning up the mess and even more awkwardly trying not to bump into each other doing so. As we settled into the couch again, I turned to Kurt and tried again. "So really, spill dude."

Kurt looked me straight in the eye, again with that dagger stare, looking as if he were trying to telepathically tap into my mind to see if I was okay with what he's about to say. After a few seconds, he finally decided that I could be trusted and started talking.

"Well, you know how I wanted to audition for the _Wicked_ solo, right?" I nodded. "Well, yesterday, my dad got a call from some immature idiot calling me a 'homo', and well, it's gotten me thinking that maybe I shouldn't push at this so hard."

"Why? Because some idiot can't handle you being you? That's not right."

"Yes, I know. It's not the idiot I'm worried about though. It's my dad." He paused and looked down again, fiddling with the sleeves of what I think he said was a Marc Jacobs jacket or something. "He's been real supportive of me ever since I came out of the closet, and I'm grateful for that, but sometimes I feel like the more I try to be myself and do what I love, the more drama and issues I subject him to."

It was clear to me that he was visibly shaken. It's a side of him I've never really seen before. He's always been so cool and confident about who he is and all that, and that's really what I've come to admire about him over the last few weeks.

"I mean after my mom died, he always remained supportive of me and everything, but lately I've just been wondering whether being myself is worth putting him through all this."

I gently bumped his arm and got him to look me in the eyes. "Can I speak candidly?" He nodded. "First off, I'd like to say that you both are lucky to have each other. You say he's been supportive of you and your sexuality, and right now, you're showing that you care for him just as much, and I think that's really great."

At that he smiled. It was good to see him smile after he looked so downcast.

"But I don't think that you should let other people influence how you and your dad live your lives. Remember our mash-up number? 'It's my life! It's now or never!' Well live your life. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks. Just do what you think is right for you. You're dad will support you even if the entire town shows up at your door with torches and pitchforks… which will never, ever happen. Just saying is all… so I mean, you should just go for it. Consider yourself lucky that your dad is willing to accept you for exactly who you are."

At that moment, I flashed to my family. Both my parents came over to America as teenagers, but they were still very traditional. Dad's an accountant. Mom's in management. Needless to say, they never really let me be me, or at least the complete version of me. As long as I sat still and gave off the image of the 'ideal son', I was fine. They didn't even know that I danced until I joined glee and they saw our invitational performance. Kurt really was lucky that his dad is so supportive.

At any rate, Kurt's smile was bigger than I'd ever seen it before, and I took comfort in the fact that I could help him, even a little bit.

"Thanks Mike. Really, thanks a lot. I-I really needed that."

"No problem. Feel free to stop by or call at anytime if you, you know, ever need to talk."

He gave out a tiny chuckle. "Will do."

After that, Kurt left, and as I cleaned up a bit, I looked at the family photos framing the walls. Pictures of my family, not really smiling, just you know, there, looking professional. After today I realized why I was so drawn to Kurt: he's able to be himself, and, more importantly, he doesn't care what other people think. People always talk about soldiers being brave when they charge into battle selflessly for their country, and that truly is great valor right there, but no one ever really mentions the brave souls all over the world who face society and fight adversity every single minute of every single day for their entire lives. Right now, Kurt seems like one of the bravest people I've ever met.

After that, Kurt and I have been talking a lot more lately. You could even say we got real 'chummy' (ha-ha, our last names together make Chummel, so it's funny… I know. I'm a dork).

We actually have a lot more in common than I realized. We happen to be taking all the same honors classes, just at different times. With the exception of all the show tunes that I've never heard of, we like the same kind of music, mostly. I'm surprised he's even heard of some of the hip hop artists I listen to. He's even introduced me to some bluesy-acoustic music that goes perfect with just relaxing on a breezy Ohio day: Adele, Corinne Bailey Rae, Colbie Caillet, etc. Granted he's about the only person who I could ever listen to this type of music with, but hey, baby steps.

He's also got a lot of very interesting things to say. With Matt, all we ever talk about is video games, movies, comic books, and other shallow guy stuff, which is cool. I'm thankful for it. It's just that Kurt has so much insight to share about some stuff. He's definitely wise beyond his years, and lord knows I'm willing to listen.

Guess it goes to show that people can surprise you, you know. I mean, I'll admit, I'm guilty of expecting the whole 'flamboyant gay' stereotype thing, which incidentally Kurt kinda is, but he's so much more than that. After hearing about him, his dad, and his whole situation in general, it kinda put things in perspective. I mean of all people, I should understand what it's like to deal with stereotypes. I'm one of the few Asian students here at McKinley High. It comes with the territory.

At any rate, the time came for the diva-off between Rachel and Kurt, and for some reason, though Kurt was doing great, he threw the note at the end of the song. It really confused me for a second. I mean, he did it fine that Saturday, and that was after two hours of practice.

As rehearsal ended, I waited till everyone was gone to approach him.

"Hey Kurt!"

His head jerked around as I called his name. "Hello Mikey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you? What happened in there?"

Kurt looked down a bit and answered lightly. "I had an epiphany during the week. Long story short: I know I'm gifted. I know I'm going to make it big someday. Until then, though, I think it's best for me to tone it down a bit. While I'm not going to stifle who I really am, it's just…" He looked at me straight in the eye. His gaze penetrated mine again, but this time, it wasn't icy or analytical. It was rather sweet actually."I know I'm special. I don't care if anyone else knows it, though. From now on, I don't have to prove anything. I'm just going to live for me, like you said."

At his last words I smiled, and the thoughts of respect came back to me. I once again saw the Kurt Hummel that I looked up to, even though he's 2 inches shorter.

* * *

_Well usually I end with a funny tagline, but that's all I came up with :P_

_Review please and tell me what you think! :D_


	4. Lean On Me

_I'm on a roll here. I mean seriously, when I can finish 4 chapters of a story in one weekend, you know I really don't want to do my homework. Yay for distractions! _

_So yeah, I have two tests, a paper and a book to read for this week, so don't expect another chapter for at least one more week. But yeah, I just really like having a creative release:P_

_Disclaimer: I do not own glee. But you already knew that._

* * *

Just when things are going great, I get hit by a bus.

No, not literally, but you know, life sucks. I mean really things could be worse, considering all the injustices in the world, but still, that doesn't make my pain and heartbreak any less real.

But yeah, just as Matt and I slowly start to drift apart, Kurt and I slowly start to inch closer together. I still saw Matt at football, glee, and we've retained our usual 'Saturday Night Video Game Fever', but every other night seems to be left to me and Kurt, even after he quit football. Whether it's a trip to the park or a simple chat on the phone, we talk a lot more than I ever did with Matt. I've heard that girls like having a gay friend to go shopping with or something, but I mean sometimes a guy just needs to talk about his feelings, and unlike my other guy friends, Kurt doesn't judge me. Whether they're about the little things, like homework, or big things, like our family lives, our conversations always leave me feeling better about myself.

At least, that's how things were before the Ballad Assignment.

At this point, everyone's kinda gotten used to the routine in glee club. Mr. Schue gives us an assignment, usually with an after-school special lesson behind it, we laugh, we cry, we group hug, and then Rachel and Finn belt it out while we sway in the background of a group number. Not that I don't mind, I mean, I just wanna dance. But Kurt and Mercedes are really starting to get annoyed by it.

Anyway, the assignment was for us to pick a name out of the hat and sing a ballad to that person. Of course, I get Tina, which isn't bad, I mean she has a beautiful voice, but it's not good either because she's still just as shy as I am when it comes to interacting with new people. So you can just imagine the scintillating conversations that Tina and I shared during this partnership (…"It's raining." "Cool."…). Oh yeah, my brain is on fire.

But Tina wasn't the giant bus speeding down a hill uncontrollably and about to hit me. That honorable title, my good friends, belongs to the ever present center of attention: Mr. Finn "Golden-boy" Hudson. *insert generic crowd booing sound here*

Don't get me wrong, Finn's a cool guy. He's a little dense, but hey, some people blame football for that. Personally, I have a theory that goes all the way out to global warming, but that's another story for another day.

My real problem came a few days later. I was leaving another partner session, which mostly consisted of Tina texting Mercedes and not saying a word to me. I passed Finn, who I was just about to wave to, in the hallway, but he walked off in such a huff that it seemed unfitting. Then, out of nowhere, Kurt appeared in front of me. I swear he has to have some Asian in him because his ninja appearing skills are so pro.

"Hey, 'sup Kurt?"

He looked at me for a second with that doe-eyed Bambi look of his again. He shook his head and snapped out of it though. "Huh, what? Oh, hello Mikey."

I've seen this look before. Heck, I've had that look before. That dazed and delusional look in his eye meant one of two things: he got hit by a dumpster this morning (which was impossible, because I saved him from this morning's dumpster dive) or he's got something on his mind. This time though, I'm kinda scared to ask what about.

Regardless of my trepidation, I ask again. "Dude, Hummel, are you okay?" I snapped my fingers for good measure.

His eyes flickered back and answered kinda frazzled. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Couldn't be better. Why do you ask?"

I stole his signature 'raise one eyebrow and look skeptical' face, and he caved.

"Okay fine, I'll tell you. But not here."

He lead me to the auditorium, which for some reason seemed to be our usual lunch spot, and started to dish.

"Okay so I'll just come out and say it. I have a huge crush on Finn."

SCREECH- CRASH! (In case you were wondering, that was the sound of a bus ramming into me and sending me flying)

"…Really?"

"I mean, I don't know why I find his stupidity charming. I mean he cheats off a girl who thinks the square root of 4 is rainbows. He was my knight in shining armor. My feelings lingered stronger as we bonded over Glee, then football, then skincare."

That last one made me do a double take, but as Kurt kept talking, I kept getting a twinge in my stomach. I dunno, I just really didn't feel like eating, and I just felt really, REALLY uncomfortable. I tried to listen to Kurt, I really did. I just couldn't focus.

"I don't know. What do you think I should do?"

I was still staring off into space when he said that, so I sat up. "Huh, what?"

Kurt rolled his eyes."Did you get lost in your contemplation of the contents of your sandwich again?" He lightly bonked my forehead. "Finn, Mikey, what should I do about Finn?"

"Oh, Finn… Right… Um…" I looked down, puzzled. I don't know why Kurt was asking me. I've never really been in a relationship, and Kurt knows that, so giving advice to another guy about a gay relationship really wasn't my specialty either.

Kurt noticed my puzzlement. "I'm sorry. This must be kind of awkward. I just realized that this really is the first time we talked about something like this-"

"Oh no, it's okay. Um, well, you guys are ballad partners, right? So take advantage of that. Have him sing just sing about his feelings. Or just do what you do with me: listen and offer some support. I mean your advice has been mostly good so far-"

"Excuse me, mostly?"

"Well your advice on how to get Tina to be a more interesting duet partner didn't work at all. She still spends the whole time glued to her phone and talking to Mercedes."

"Well maybe you just don't have anything interesting to say," he mused with a tone of playfulness in his voice.

"Or maybe you're just losing your touch. I have noticed that your style has been taking a bit of a dip lately."

His jaw dropped like an anchor. "Oh don't get snippy with me mister. Do you realize how much dirt I've learned about you over the past few weeks?"

"Do you realize how much dirt you just revealed to me just now?"

He froze and looked at me worriedly. I tried to look as serious as possible with that one-raised-eyebrow look again.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me, doll face."

Still looking very apprehensive, he chuckled a bit. "Wow. It's amazing how much we're rubbing off on each other. You're slowly becoming more outgoing and I'm-"

"-losing your head?"

He glared daggers at me again. "-becoming more shy." He pushed my head again, and we continued on with our lunch. When the bell rang, we gathered our stuff and headed for the door.

"Be honest. Do you really think I have a chance with Finn Hudson?"

That feeling in my stomach came back, and on a full stomach, that meant I risked blowing chunks. Still I hid my discomfort and answered honestly: "With your determination, you can do anything you set your mind to."

"Thanks. I can always count on you, Mikey."

I smiled. "Yeah, well, _Lean on Me"_

With that, Kurt was beaming and trotted out of the auditorium with a spring in his step. I meant what I said; he could do anything he wanted to. I just didn't have the heart to warn him about the looming threats of Rachel, and especially Quinn. I walked at a slower pace behind him contemplating the feeling in the pit of my gut. Maybe that was really bad ham or something. I should have checked the expiration date on that meat packaging. Really that was the only viable other than…

No, it could be. Kurt was one of my best friends. I mean if my stomach feels this way for the reason that I'm thinking, then that would mean… no… I mean I can't be jealous. That would me that I care for Kurt as more than just a friend, and I mean that's totally not possible. No way. I mean he's awesome but our relationship's purely platonic. Yep totally. So what if his laugh and his smile make my heart skip a beat? So what if his crystal blue gazes sends shivers down my spine? So what if his voice makes me feel like I'm in a dream, a sweet, never ending dream? All that doesn't mean anything and it certainly doesn't imply… I mean it definitely doesn't lead to the conclusion… I mean… it really doesn't mean that…

I'm in love with Kurt Hummel.

* * *

_OMG Mike just had an epiphany, didn't he? :O Embrace it, dude! EMBRACE IT! _

_... yeah already hyped up on Valentines' Candy :P_

_Happy Valentines' Day! _

_Reviews would be very much appreciated!_


	5. True Colors

_OMG, it has been such a rough week! I'm so glad I can use this as an outlet. :) So yeah, I really feel for this chapter. I was inspired by vcg73's story Everything Old is New Again to change up my style a bit. Again, this is such a good story,you should def. check it out! _

_Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own glee. Or the song used. Of course._

* * *

Kurt was right though. I was beginning to come out of my shell more and more every day. At the beginning of the year, most of my teachers have never heard my voice, and the looks of surprise on their faces were purely hysterical. I'm still relatively quiet, but people have been increasingly talking to me more and more. For most people, that was a good thing, but I've been noticing people whispering in the hallway, looking at me, and turning away sharply to laugh for some odd reason. At first I thought it was the usual stuff, like having toilet paper stuck to my shoe or something, but in any case, I was fine. I mean I really didn't mind. It actually felt good to not be invisible for a while.

Then Mr. Schuster had to go and invite the Jane Addams' glee club to perform at McKinley.

Don't get me wrong, those girls weren't horrible; they were actually pretty decent if I do say so myself. It's just, while I was sitting there, admiring their dance moves, the other guys, with the exception of Kurt of course, were at the edge of their seats ogling the abundant 'assets' of the all female club members throughout the entire song. I realize that that may have been the point of the choreography, but still, objectifying women is wrong, no matter how much people try to provoke it.

I mean, when I was little, when my relatives would hear about my latest crush on a girl, they'd give me so much heat for it that it felt awkward, so I kinda stayed away from them. Then when puberty hit, and parents were giving their kids 'the talk', my mom went on and on about respecting women, not pressuring them, and the consequences of my 'actions'. She even mentioned at one point how if I ever came home to give the news that I had, in fact, gotten a girl knocked up, well, she'd cut something of mine into tiny bit sized pieces… Yeah...

At any rate, my respect for women led to some awkward moments that Saturday. Instead of the usual bromance videogame day between Matt and me, all the New Direction guys, except for Kurt, came over. I really don't remember why or how that happened, but hey the more the merrier, right? It was okay at first; we talked about the stuff we usually do in… which eventually led to the subject of girls…

"Yeah those Jane Addams girls really got it goin' on if you know what I mean." Puck had that look in his eye that he had whenever he was around Santana… and Brittany… and Quinn… around any girl really. "I definitely think I was ready for some of that jelly."

Artie and Matt reacted like typical guys, shoving each other and giving that 'yeah I'm feeling you dude' look in their eyes. Finn intently focused on _Call of Duty_, probably not wanting to talk about girls like this. I mean, I understand where he's coming from, having knocked up Quinn and all, and I respect him for that. He has grown up in the last few weeks. I still kinda had a tiny ticked off feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I saw him, but I'll get more into that later. I just rolled my eyes at the endless dribble that Puck and the other guys were constantly yammering about.

Surprisingly enough, Puck noticed my apparent disapproval of the conversation topic. I mean, he wasn't the most perceptive person in the entire world, so it caught me off guard when he suddenly asked me, "What's your problem, Chang?"

I looked up, caught a little off guard. "Oh nothing. Nothing at all."

"Really? Well then, who do you think is hotter: Santana or Brittany?"

"Oh, um, well they're both beautiful, and I mean, Santana's, um, passionate. But Britt's sweet-"

Puck threw a pillow at me and laughed. "Damn, Chang, I asked you who's hotter. Why the hell would you care about Brittany's 'sweetness'… well unless you're talkin' 'bout her sweet ass-"

Before he could finish, and before Artie and Matt could continue snickering in agreement, I threw the pillow right back in his face. "Dude just shut up."

Puck looked insulted, as if I was the one who said something offensive. "Dude, what's your deal?"

"My 'deal' is that you're a pig-head. Britt's a nice girl. She doesn't deserve that kind of talk-"

He threw the pillow right back, this time at a much lower place and much harder. "Dude, you're just sore because I've nailed both of them and then some."

I rolled my eyes for the billionth time that night. "Psh, right."

Then he eyed me in a very uncharacteristically observant type of way. It was unusual, scary, and uncomfortable. "You know dude, all this stuff makes you seem kinda fishy."

"Fishy?" I raised an eyebrow. "Fishy how?"

"You know, being uncomfortable when we talk about girls, the fact that you haven't had the girlfriend since the 2nd grade, the fact that you've been hangin' out with Mr. Cellophane really makes it seem like your-"

"I'm what exactly?" I tried to sound as threatening as possible, but really I was really freaked out, especially 'cause I've been thinking the exact same things, and I knew all too well what he was about to say.

"-that the Other Asian is actually becoming the only 'Gasian' at this school!"

I was about to punch him in the face, when Finn paused his game and came to my rescue.

"Dude, lay off."

Puck eyed Finn with his usual threatening look. "What? You defending him, Nancy-boy?"

Finn rolled his eyes. After getting constant heat from the other football guys, I guess he's built up immunity to the teasing. "Dude just because he's about the only chivalrous guy and actually respects the girls in our school doesn't mean anything. Just lay off okay?"

Puck opened his mouth again but reconsidered the situation and closed it again, not wanting to start another brawl like they did that week we had to stay in wheelchairs. Right then Matt and Artie chimed in about something else just as I went downstairs to get something to eat.

I rummaged through Matt's pantry for some pita chips when I heard Finn cough behind me.

"Hey man, sorry about Puck up there. He's just-"

"-an insensitive prick?"

He looked at me, surprised that I'd be so blunt, and smirked. "Yeah, just about."

"Don't worry about it dude. I'm cool."

There was an awkward silence, and Finn just stood there, nodding at me while I ate my pita chips (the fact that they were the 'Simply Naked' flavor just made it a little more awkward). After a while of us just standing there staring at each other, Finn finally said something.

"So… you and Kurt have gotten really chummy lately…" I tried not to laugh at the word 'chummy', but the realization of the combination of both mine and Kurt's last names never ceases to make me laugh.

"Yeah, Kurt's cool. He's really easy to talk to about stuff."

Finn wore an understanding look on his face, a very awkward 'I've-know-exactly-what-you-mean' face and it made me wonder: was there something going on between him and Kurt? I mean, I told Kurt he could do anything he set his mind to, but did he really make a move on Finn already?

I think Finn could sense my pondering and awkwardly excused himself back up to Matt's game room, which was good for me because that hostile feeling in the pit of my stomach was beginning to come back.

Seriously, though, these feelings couldn't have come at a worse time. I mean, here I am, questioning whether or not I really am smitten with a certain countertenor, and all these guys are really starting to notice. Does Kurt know? Oh God, I hope not. This jealousy thing is really making things worse, too. Damn it, Schue! Sorry. I usually don't use language like that, but if he hadn't invited the Jane Addams' girls to perform, that conversation upstairs never would have happened! …Well probably not. Knowing Puck, the topic would've drifted that way anyway.

But the thing that was getting to me the most was that what he said upstairs wasn't wrong at all. I mean, the last time I liked a girl was in the second grade, and we really weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, we just had a mutual awkward crush that made us scream whenever we saw each other. And really, now that I think about it, on top of all the teasing and whatnot, from my family and my peers, I think I really have been conditioned to _**over**__-_respect women. I mean, for the last 16 and ¼ years I've respected them so much that I've completely steered clear of them. I shouldn't be surprised. Every time I saw some guy stare at a woman south of their chin, they got slapped, punched, or kicked in the… you know… so I mean this hyper-respectful attitude had to come a little bit from fear I guess.

My curfew was at 11, so I left at 10:10, but before I left, when everyone just waved goodbye, Finn found the need to come up to me and say, "For the record, the fact that you actually respect women makes you better than more than half the guys in school right now." It was kinda awkward, but I figure that's the guilt talking after what happened to Quinn.

Of course, he changed his tune when he saw Rachel on Monday. To be fair, she wasn't wearing anything too risqué, I mean, girls at this school have taken it way farther than a little black dress, but it was definitely showing off her curves more than her usual clothes. You should have seen Finn's face; he literally was drooling. Jacob Ben Israel walked by and slipped on the puddle. At that moment though, all my respect for him flew out the window. Not only does he have Kurt wrapped around his finger, but he and Quinn are expecting, and he has the audacity to objectify Rachel like that? I wanted to break his nose.

Then I saw Kurt walk up with Rachel, a smirk on his face, and overheard him say something. "Phase 1, complete." Rachel shared in his smirk, and they kept walking with a satisfied look on their faces.

Now I was confused. I would've thought that Kurt would have been more disappointed by the prospect of Rachel winning over Finn. How could he be taking this so well?

Before I could confront them, I ran into Puck, literally. It was like running into a brick wall. He was just standing there so solemn and intently that I didn't even notice or recognize him at first.

"Dude, I need to talk to you."

He didn't even bother to help me up. As I got up and dusted myself off, he just stared at me. "Really? You're not too afraid to be seen talking to the only 'Gasian' in town?"

He looked around and pulled me off to a corner. "About that, I'm sorry. I just really need your advice."

He looked at me with a genuine look of distress. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Ugh, with what?"

He looked down and whispered to me: "I need you to tell me how to be a gentleman."

I was completely overcome with shock. Seriously, my jaw dropped and everything. "Really? You're usual 'be a jerk' thing didn't work out for you?"

"Dude lay off. It's just, I like a girl, and I messed up, and I'm starting to think I should take a different approach to this…"

I really was surprised though. Any girl who was woman enough to inspire Puck to want to change must be a real class act. I eyed him skeptically still and asked him, "Who's the girl?"

He paused and looked downcast. "Quinn…"

My jaw had already dropped once today, so the second time it happened, my jaw almost locked into place. "Quinn… as in pregnant Quinn?"

"Dude, don't judge-"

"I'm sorry, but I draw the line at this. You can't come here and expect to help you land a girl that's pregnant with someone else's-"

"The baby's mine dude."

I was speechless. Really, I was frozen there with nothing to say for a long time. I've never been involved in any drama at school. Ever. So this situation, like Kurt kicking a perfect field goal, blew my mind. I looked him straight in the eye. "Listen, I can understand that you're a little confused right now, but I have to be straight with you. If you want to win Quinn over, you're going to have to figure it out on your own. Don't expect me to help you drop that bomb on anyone."

After that, I kinda kept to myself for a while. My problems with Kurt were the least of my worries. I know I said I kinda hated Finn, but that's all gone now. He's taking the heat for a baby that isn't even his. I've seen him exhausted and crying in the locker room when he stays behind to avoid everyone, and now I hated myself a little bit for staying mad at him for so long.

My empathic haze of depression lasted for a few days, and after a while I found myself really needing to talk to Kurt. I wasn't sure if I was going to tell him or not, but I just needed someone to cheer me up. Talking to him always seems to do that… Oh gosh, now I'm back to my original problem… dang it!

It took me a while to find him, but right before lunch period I decided to ambush him at his locker, but before I turned the corner, I heard Rachel slam a locker door shut and start talking.

"You set me up! Why would you do that? I thought we were friends!" She sounded genuinely hurt and confused. I almost felt sorry for her, but really she sounds like that a lot lately.

"And what made you think that? All I'm imagining right now is shoving a sock down your throat."

Ouch, Kurt, I know she's annoying, but you don't have to be mean.

"You're just trying to eliminate the competition aren't you? Admit it, you like him!" They must have been talking about Finn. Suddenly Rachel's little black dress made sense. Rachel must have thought that Kurt was trying to set them up. I didn't know who to feel sorry for at that point.

"Like you're any competition. What makes you think you're his second choice?"

"Yeah. well even if I were second or third or fiftieth, I would still be ahead of you because I'm a _**girl**_!"

At that moment, I wanted to grab Kurt and hold him because even though I couldn't see him, I felt his pain and anguish filling up the hallway.

"Alright listen up, Rachel. Quinn's pregnant. They're having a baby together. We're nothing but distractions to him. The sooner the both of us realize that the better."

Kurt rounded the corner and bumped straight into me. He wasn't prepared to face anyone yet, I'm assuming, because when I looked him in the eyes, he looked positively broken. Those eyes were like diamonds shining with the deepest shine of sadness, pain, and misery.

Before he could say or do anything, I enfolded him in my arms in an attempt to comfort him. I could feel a couple of tears drip down on my shoulder. After a few seconds, I let go and looked him straight in the eyes.

We stood there for a second as I let him regain his composure, and then we proceeded wordlessly to the auditorium. We sat on the stage and tried to eat our lunches despite a severe lack of appetite. After a good 5 minutes of contemplating what to say, I broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about what Rachel said to you. Heck, I'm sorry for eavesdropping on you too."

"It's okay. I sort of deserved it anyway. I shouldn't have led her to dress like that." He closed his eyes and hit himself on the forehead. "I don't even know what I was thinking."

"You were thinking that you liked Finn. The prospect that someone else liked him too must have hurt."

"I just- I thought that making her feel the rejection and turmoil that I did would give me some feeling of satisfaction somehow, but now-"

"Both of you are hurting."

He looked me straight in the eye again with that raw heartache emanating from his eyes. Simply looking at him just made me want to cry.

"For what it's worth, you don't need to hurt people to feel good about yourself." He broke the gaze and looked like he was on the verge of tears. I took my hand and raised his chin to make his eyes meet mine again. "You're amazing. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

He smiled at me and drew me into another hug. I could feel his tears falling on me again, and I wanted to tell him to just let it all out. I wanted to tell him that we could stay there forever and forget the world around us. I wanted to tell him how I feel, everything. But there was a small problem.

"Uh Kurt, I hate to ruin the moment, but I think I got mustard on your Mark Jacobs…"

He jerked away and looked down, and there was, indeed, a tiny drop of mustard on his jacket. I mean, that's what he gets for hugging me with a sandwich in my hand! I braced myself for the explosion that was bound to happen, but instead, he burst out laughing. He was laughing hysterically. He tipped over on his side and started writhing on the stage floor in laughter, and I just looked awestricken right at him. After a few minutes he looked at me in a, dare I say it, loving manner, and before I had time to blush, he took my root beer and threw it all on me. As I sat there in shock, he started laughing hysterically again. So, I picked up his pudding and smeared it all over his jacket to, you know, give that lonely mustard stain some company.

We spent the rest of the lunch period dumping various food products on each other, laughing hysterically and running all over the place until we were both tired and out of ammo. We collapsed on the floor of the stage and looked at each other straight in the eyes, face to face. I'd never been so close to him before. His laugh lines lingered on his face as he smiled at me.

"Thank you."

I shrugged. "Nothing like a little laughter to help you through those hard times. Course in your case, retail therapy would work just as well, but I guess that's what you have Mercedes for."

He giggled, and as he did he shut his eyes and just laughed like the last few days hadn't happened. It wasn't just remarkable. It was beautiful.

"No really, thank you. I'm so lucky to have a friend like you."

Friend. He said friend. Though I didn't let him see it, my mood kinda dropped off right then and there. I mean, I was lying there, covered in food, inches away from his face, and he can't see that I'm just as in love with him as he is with Finn. There was no sense in denying it now. I had no doubt at all about my feelings right then and there, but the sad thing is I only recognized these feelings because he seems to be incapable of doing so.

The bell rang, and we cleaned up and went to class. The rest of the day was a blur. The weight of my depression just weighed down on me. I felt numb throughout the whole day until glee practice. I can't quite place Mr. Schue's usual introductory words, but the next thing I knew, we were in the auditorium.

Then Tina began to sing.

"_You with the sad eyes_

_Don't be discouraged_

_Oh, I realize_

_It's hard to take courage_

_In a world full of people_

_You can lose sight of it all_

_And darkness inside you _

_Make you feel so small"_

I looked straight to Kurt right before we started the chorus. He smiled and looked at me, but though he was looking, he wasn't really _seeing_ me. Even as I sat there, singing a song that fully expressed how I felt about him right now, all he can see is Finn. I dunno. Maybe it's best he doesn't know. He's got a lot going on right now. He doesn't need me gushing about some feelings I know he won't reciprocate. As I sat there, I just wanted to do something, anything, to let him know that what I'm singing is real. What I'm singing is coming from somewhere real and true and honest and… he's not going to care.

"_I see your true colors shining through_

_I see your true colors_

_And that's why I love you"_

That's why I love you Kurt.

"_So don't be afraid to let them show_

_Your true colors_

_True colors, true colors_

_True colors, are beautiful,_

_Like a rainbow"_

Like a rainbow. If only he could see.

* * *

_That last part really relates to me and how I felt at one point in my life. Heck, i still feel that way now. I just hope I could communicate more emotion in this chapter. I've been having trouble with that lately. _

_Please tell me what you think!_


	6. You Belong with Me

_After reading a review, and rereading my first chapter, I realized how much I changed the story. I mean I planned the basic plot line out, but last chapter was more preachy than comedic, and I originally wanted this to be, I don't know, funny. Oh well. Hopefully this is better. Thank you to Mathais for a much needed wake up call. Hope you enjoy this better!_

_And yeah about the song, I couldn't think of anything better than that particular song for this type of situation. Oh well._

_Disclaimer: Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and the song belongs to the respective artist._

* * *

Crap. Crap, Crap Crapity Crap!

I just sat there on the couch, staring out of the window, feeling like I wanted to jump out of it. I felt like I wanted to scream! I felt like I wanted to go up to Coach Sylvester and just shave her head or something. I mean releasing our set list for sectionals. That… that… witch!

Kurt turned to Santana and Brittany and started venting. "You guys don't care about us! Your just Sylvester little moles!"

"I know for a fact that's true." Quinn added. "She asked us to spy for her."

Santana didn't look like she liked the heat they were giving her. "Yeah, but neither of us ever gave Sue the set list!"

Brittany had a guilty look on her face. "Well, I did, but I didn't know what she was going to do with it."

Everybody just let out a frustrated sigh. At that point I stopped listening. All the drama from before just seemed so trivial after this. The constant criss-crossing of relationship dramas, the defacing of our glee picture in the yearbook (though I have to admit, having panda drawn ears on me wasn't so bad), and especially my petty depression about a certain boy who just happened to be in the room just wasn't important. Just yesterday, Finn found out that he, indeed, wasn't the father of Quinn's baby. Just last week Mr. Schue found out his wife was faking his pregnancy AND that he couldn't see us through to sectionals. The only thing that seemed to hit me right now is that the best thing that ever happened to me could be ending in a matter of minutes.

Then Finn walked through the door.

He threw some sheet music on the table. "I found sheet music online, made copies with the Cheerios' copier, and then I trashed the thing."

We all just looked at him, amazed at his heroic rescue moment. "Mike, Matt, Brittany, Santana: you're our best dancers. Come up with something and we'll follow your lead."

"It's gonna be choppy." I interjected without thinking.

He smiled and shrugged. "Good. We're best when we're loose."

I smiled, reminded of the reason why we all looked up to him as the leader, and worked on the choreography.

Finn was right. It was one of our best performances yet. Of course, we screwed up noticeably a couple of times, but overall, it felt good. No, actually, it was more than good. If I had to pick a word… Euphoric. The whole debacle of the leaked set list was far behind us. As all our voices melded together in perfect harmony, everything else just melted away. There was nothing else there, except us, doing what we do best. Together.

As the song ended, and the audience rose to their feet, cheering their guts out for us, I couldn't help but smile the biggest smile I ever had and just drink it all in. As the song ended, we looked all looked at each other, a family once again, and reveled in each other's glow of effervescence. As the song ended, I found Kurt, and though he had not known what I was going through prior to that day, I enfolded him in my arms once more and squeezed as tightly as I could, as if I tried to release that hurricane of emotion to him through that single moment. He must have sensed that I really needed that hug, because he squeezed back just as tightly. And though that moment only lasted a few seconds, in my mind, that moment lasted forever, and it always will.

At that moment, I knew that that performance was not our last. It couldn't be. I knew at that moment that we had won, and I looked forward to having many more of these moments in the bright future that was to come.

* * *

After much thought and introspection, I decided not to reveal my feelings to Kurt. Neither of us were ready. I mean, Kurt went from football player to Cheerio (yes, I said Cheerio!) to dancing to M.C. hammer on library tabletops in a short span of two weeks. He's just trying to find himself, I'm sure, so far be it from me to interfere. Besides, I don't think I'm ready for to put myself out there just yet. I mean if Kurt did feel the same way, we couldn't be together without me having to come out, and I'm just not ready for that. I will one day, I hope, so until then, maybe I'll just let Kurt do his own thing.

After sectionals though, our little 'glee family' had grown closer than ever. I convinced Matt to come with me to hang out with Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes, and we've had some pretty insane times. We've done everything from trying to bake a cake and ending up covering an entire room with flour and eggs (food fights for the win!) to totally setting the record for 'most gutter balls in a single game' at the local bowling arena. Of course Matt did abandon me a few times when the girls (and Kurt) decided to go shopping a couple of times, which pretty much turned into them forcing me to try on clothes that were way more 'fashion forward' than I'm used to. And don't even get me started on how many times they forced me, and me alone, to carry all their bags for them when they went shopping. Those were the times I wanted to kill Matt. I swear, if I wanted three girlfriends, I would have, I dunno, sold myself on craigslist or something.

But in all honesty, other than glee club, those were the best parts of my week. Besides, carrying all those bags did do wonders for my biceps. Course, I'm still a scrawny little Asian guy, but still… DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! I'M HAVE SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES!

…

Ahem… sorry for that outburst… moving on!

You got to admire Kurt for his determination and his optimism. It was a long shot that he and Finn could ever be together, and he knew that, but he still never gave up hope. Kid's got moxy, I'll give him that. He even tried to set his dad up with Finn's mom, and he tells me that they really hit it off. I mean, Kurt always said that he wanted to put his dad out there again, but Mercedes, Tina, and I always knew better. It was just another excuse to get closer to Finn. Much to my surprise, it worked out better than I thought it would. Of course they were becoming more like step-brothers than lovers, but oh well. Don't worry; I'll try not to sound _too_ broken up about it… (tee hee)

Then, again, something else happened. (Wow, every time I say that, it sounds like a train full of orphans collided with a bus full of puppies.)

I was walking through the halls on Monday, still smiling at the awesome time me and the gang had at mini-golf (Tina hit the ball and it ricochet off a bridge and hit Matt square in the head… lol), and then, I passed something that just seemed like an oddity of nature: a guy in a trucker hat that smelled of Dior perfume. I did a double take and realized who it was (I'd recognize that sashay anywhere).

"Kurt?"

The guy turned around, and it was, indeed, the Kurt Hummel, fashion icon extraordinaire, wearing aforementioned trucker hat, a blue vest, a tattered old grey shirt, and, dare I say it, Wal-Mart jeans and sneakers. Again, MIND OFFICIALLY BLOWN.

"'Sup Chaaaanngg." He gave an awkward 'bro-nod' with his hands in his pockets. I didn't know whether to laugh or run away like a little girl who just saw the boogeyman. He was also trying extremely hard to make his voice sound deeper, which was just wrong on so many levels (he sounded like a drunken James Earl Jones!).

"Uh, Kurt, have you been getting alcohol from April Rhodes again?"

"No, man, I'm just trying to keep it real, ya know?"

I just stared in awe. "So keeping it real means walking around like the clearance bin at Target just threw up on you?"

He gave his best attempt at one of Finn's indifferent 'I could care less' shrugs, but it kinda looked like a shoulder spasm. After a few seconds of me awkwardly looking at him and him trying to look aloof (emphasis on trying), he tried to leave. "Yeah, well I'll catch you later dude. I'm late for class." He paused. "N-Not that I care. Just sayin'- is all…"

…

W. T. F.

* * *

What's weirder than Kurt Hummel's behavior this morning? Him singing 'Pink Houses' by John Mellencamp. Seriously, I kept expecting a frog to jump out of his throat. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and he continued to sing a song that was really, really, unfit for him. At the end I was frozen with disbelief, but when I finally came to, I saw him talking to Brittany. Initially I didn't think much of it, but then I heard Brittany say something I'd never thought I'd hear her say:

"…So, let me know if you wanna tap this."

…

My brain just broke… again.

* * *

After the first few days, I thought, you know, Kurt and Brittany would have called it off by now, but after the third day, I was getting scared. I mean what the hell was going on? I tried to talk to Kurt, but I dunno, things just went the same way:

"Hey"

"Hey"

"Sup"

"Sup"

…

"Later"

"Yeah"

… I dunno. I guess I'm back to being awkward and depressed. I needed to vent some of my emotions. I needed to talk to somebody. I just needed to do something.

Then I happened to walk by the choir room, and it was completely empty. No Brad, no band members, not even Mr. Schuester was there. I went in and sat down on the piano. I took lessons when I was in Junior High and still remembered how to play. There also was a song that came out that kinda expressed my feelings right now. And since no one was around, I guess it was okay to sing it. I mean it's kinda embarrassing. But hey, Rachel and Kurt seem to love venting their emotions through singing, so I guess I could give it a shot.

I made sure the door was closed and then started to play an extremely slowed down ballad version of the song I had in mind. I quadruple checked around me to make positively sure that no one would find me here, and then opened my mouth to sing:

"_You're on the phone with your girlfriend_

_She's upset_

_She's going off about something that you said_

_Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do_

_I'm in my room_

_It's a typical Tuesday night_

_I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like_

_And she'll never know your story like I do_

_But she wears short skirts_

_I wear t-shirts_

_She's cheer captain and_

_I'm on the bleachers_

_Dreaming about the day that you wake up and find_

_That what you're looking for has been hear the whole time_

_If you could see that I'm the one who understands you_

_Been here all along so why can't you see_

_You belong with me"_

As I sat there singing, I took to heart the lyrics coming out of my mouth. Brittany really couldn't comprehend half the stuff that I do about Kurt. She'd never understand how it feels to be in his shoes. At least with Finn, they both know what it feels like to lose a parent they love. I just couldn't understand how even though I know everything there is to know about Kurt, he still chose Finn, and Brittany, over me.

"_Standing by and waiting at your back door_

_All this time how could you not know baby_

_You belong with me_

_Oh I remember you driving to my house _

_In the middle of the night_

_I'm the one who makes you laugh_

_When you know you're about to cry_

_I know your favorite songs _

_And you tell me about your dreams_

_Think I know where you belong_

_Think I know it's with me"_

I could really imagine Kurt standing in front of me, hearing every word I'm singing. If I could, I would just tell him this. I just really ask him:

"_Have you ever thought just maybe_

_You belong with me"_

As I finished the song, I just sat there and felt amazed at what just happened. Rachel was right, singing about it, putting all your emotions into something can really be a therapeutic exercise.

Just then, I heard clapping. I shuttered. Please don't be who I'm thinking it is. Please don't be Kurt and his ninja skills…

I turned slowly and saw Mr. Schuester standing there, clapping with a big smile on his face.

Thank you God.

"Wow Mike, that was really good."

I blushed a little bit. Even though I was relieved that Kurt wasn't the one who walked in on that secret jam session, but, you know, I still would have liked no one to hear me sing that song. Ever.

"Thanks Mr. Schue. I just wanted to try a little something."

He came up and leaned against the piano. "A 'little something', huh? That was a really good something. Is that your song for the assignment this week?"

I looked up at him with an apprehensive look on my face. Sensing my fear he responded, "You don't have to sing if you don't want to. I just figured that that was the song you wanted to express really meant something to you." I looked down and blushed again. "And I could tell that meant something to you."

I scratched the back of my head and responded shyly. "Well yeah, I guess you could say I've been feeling some of that I guess."

I looked up at Mr. Schue's face when I said this and instantly wish I hadn't. He had this 'I understand' smirk on his face, which made me slightly uncomfortable. "I figured. You have been giving a certain someone a couple of glances lately."

I froze. "I-I have?"

"Yeah, I mean someone has been dating a certain Cheerio lately, and even before that, you two have been awful 'chummy', haven't you?"

Oh God. If he thought it was obvious, did everyone else? "H-Have we?"

"Yes, you have." He looked at me and then chuckled a bit. "Listen, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but just know I'm here if you ever need to talk to me about your crush on 'Brittany'."

The way he said Brittany, and the fact that he nudged me pretty hard, told me that he definitely knew that it wasn't Brittany who I had a crush on. In any case, I knew then that my secret was safe with him and smiled.

"Right. Thanks Mr. Schue."

He patted me on the back and got up to get some sheet music sitting on the other side of the room. "No problem Mike. And hey, if you ever change your mind, I definitely would consider using you for a solo sometime soon. You're as good a singer as you are a dancer. And you could probably be a good piano player, too."

Flattered, I kinda flushed again at the compliments. "Really?"

"Really. Feel free to ask me or Brad about any pointers or anything." He stuffed the sheet music in his bag and walked towards the door. "Have a nice day, Mike."

I waved as he left. I had a really good feeling for a long time after that.

I found Kurt sitting on the edge of the stage eating his lunch. He was wearing an outfit he bought on one of our glee gang outings, so I was assuming, hoping really, that he was back to normal. I plopped down beside him and took a good look at him.

"Hello Mikey."

"Well hey Mr. Mellencamp. I see we're back to normal."

He smiled lightly. "Yes, well, I realized that that look really wasn't for me."

"Yeah you and everyone else in school." He continued eating silently, and after a moment I asked him, "Everything okay."

"Yes, yes, everything's fine… now."

"Spill dude."

He looked down nervously. Last time I said that, he spilled soda on my coffee table. Relieved that that wasn't the case this time, he answered, "Well, you know Finn and my dad have been getting close lately. As they grew closer, I felt like me and my dad were drifting farther and farther apart, and I got scared." He looked downcast and hurt at the recollection of his emotions. "But I realized that I was being silly."

"Psh, I'll say." I blurted that out without really thinking.

He looked up and smiled. "Yes, well, I could tell you were really worried about my whole, transformation." Psh, that's an understatement. "At any rate, I'll try being myself more from now on."

"Hm, where have I heard that before?"

He shoved me in the ribcage and giggled. His giggles were always more genuine than his chuckles. His chuckles were what he did around me when we were just starting to get to know each other. His giggles have so much more emotion in them. I can feel a genuine happiness when he giggles.

This could just be me trying to find an excuse to not put myself out there, but it seems like the more I hang out with Kurt, the more I feel he really isn't ready for a relationship, or at least one with someone as deep in the closet as me. He just has so much to deal with right now that I don't want to confuse him by adding 'Deal with your best friend having a crush on you' to his list of things to handle right now.

If anything, though, I'm still taking steps to get there; today was proof of that. At the beginning of the year, I wouldn't be caught dead singing a song like that. Granted they're still baby steps, but hey, one step at a time right? If Kurt really belongs with me, we'll get there. I just know we will.

* * *

_I'm really excited for the next chapter. I love Lady Gaga, and I've got something good planned (at least in my opinion) for that. _

_As always, criticism and critique are always welcome!_


	7. Just Dance

Yeah, I hope this chapter doesn't seem awkward. I wish you guys could see how these scenes play out in my head. The musical numbers would be so much more interesting if you could actually see them.

_Oh well. Please enjoy. This was my favorite episode, but I don't think I did it justice. Tell me what you think. _

_Disclaimer: Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy, and Gaga owns all songs too._

* * *

After my secret Taylor Swift jam session in the choir room, my voice just wouldn't give it a rest… I mean I still didn't have the guts to sing by myself in public, but you know I'm… shy.

But seriously, anytime I could find a private moment alone, you can bet I took that time to sing. Whether I was home alone, walking to school, heck, even in the bathroom (more specifically in the shower… c'mon, I'm not that weird!). I guess you could say that I had the music in me!

Not even that downer, Bryan Ryan, could get me down. I mean, I didn't really have a definite dream to write down, but whatever I would decide to do, I was pretty sure I could get there. Right now, though, I was enjoying life.

Especially glee.

Tina and I just did a dance number with Artie on vocals, and it was fun. She dances pretty well, and Artie's got an amazing voice. I kinda wish that she would have asked me to do vocals though. I mean, most of the numbers we perform are to an empty auditorium (except for Mr. Schue), and I was getting pretty comfortable around everybody, so I guess I could have given it a shot. I got nothing on Artie though. Dude, if you combined my dancing with Artie's vocals, you'd get, like, a super mega performing robot. That'd be epic.

But anyway, I was minding my own business, you know, talking to Matt and Kurt, when Rachel walks in and started freaking out and talking so fast it sounded like gibberish. I could make out words like "Vocal Adrenaline" and "Christmas lights" and "lace", but other than that, she lost me. All the girls, and Kurt, of course had these wide eyed and deeply fearful looks on their faces. The guys and I just looked at each other and wondered if the girls were going crazy or if some kind of nerve gas had leaked into the school or something.

"They're doing Gaga." Kurt said suddenly. "They're going for full on theatricality. They know it's the easiest way to beat us. Damn them!"

Suddenly, it all made sense. I've seen some of Lady Gaga's music videos and performances. She's insane, but she got style. I could kinda see why they'd all be freaking out.

Mr. Schue's voice brought me back into the conversation. "This week, your assignment: Gaga!"

The girls all looked thrilled. Beyond thrilled, actually. Kurt looked like he was gonna pee his pants with excitement… course he was wearing his Gucci pants, so not likely… Is it sad that I can tell the name brands off his clothes already?

In any case, the guys did not look excited at all. I mean, I was fine with it. And I mean, some of Gaga's songs are pretty good dance songs, so maybe I could use this as an excuse for a break out dance number.

Gaga fever must have spread fast, because by the next day, the girls, and Kurt, already had pretty cool replicas of some of Gaga's most well known outfits. I doubt Tina's bubble tea dress was within dress code, but oh well… Mmm… Bubble tea… too bad they don't have good tea shops in Lima; I could really use a Taro root smoothie.

Right when I started thinking about tea, Azimio and Karofsky pushed Tina and Kurt into some lockers.

"What is wrong with you? Were you two dropped on your heads?" Kurt looked positively outraged.

Before they could respond, I came up behind the two blockheads and shoved them in the shoulders. "Is there a problem here?"

They looked at me, then looked at each other, and looked back at me. "Uh, I don't think it's any of yo business, Chang."

"Yeah, why don't you go off and eat some egg rolls or something."

I would have punched him right then and there if I wasn't so sure that Azimio would punch me back in response. "Just layoff, okay? Kurt and Tina didn't do anything to you."

They looked at each other, feigning confusing. "Who and who? … Oh you mean Lady Face and bubbles!" They were making it really hard to keep my fists down. "Well, all we know is that we don't like Gaga, and we don't appreciate how you glee losers have to shove all this crappy garbage down our throats and call it art!"

"Yeah if you guys wanna be freaks, that's fine!"

"Just do it where we can't see, hear, or even smell you, capuche?"

They shoved me out of the way and then tripped me and proceeded to kick my backpack across the hall. Kurt and Tina rushed over to help me up.

"Thanks Mike."

I looked at them and smiled. "It's no problem. You two don't deserve that." Kurt's wig was a little messed up, so put one of the hairs back in place, but they were both too pissed to recognize the gesture. They looked like they were about to go off in an angry rant about what just happened, but I interjected. "Hey, before you start, we're gonna be late for glee rehearsal…"

They glanced at the hall clock and proceeded down the hall to the choir room. I went back for my backpack, but when I bent down, I felt an ice cold chill wash over my head. Sometime in the last 30 seconds, Karofsky had found a slushy machine and dumped the cherry flavor all over my head.

I straightened my back, the slushy sliding down my neck and into my back, and saw that I was face to face with the idiot responsible for my wet backside. He just gave me one of those 'what-are-you-lookin'-at?' shrugs and kept on walking.

I went to the bathroom and cleaned up before heading to glee practice. Matt must have noticed, because he texted me '_go str8 to auditorium'._

I burst through the door, and a rush of pure awesomeness exploded in my face. The girls, and Kurt (I'm getting tired of having to add that btw), had just started their rendition of _Bad Romance_, and I was extremely happy that I didn't miss it. The combination of Santana and Mercedes voices, with the compliments of Tina, Kurt, and Quinn, were like eargasms combined with eyegasms. I mean they're dancing was insane (it was like a cross between zombies and a robot… awesome…), especially since all of them were wearing 5 inch+ heels! It was phenomenal. And I'm not just saying that because of Kurt, though he did lift his leg unusually high at one point... ahem... and that's all I have to say about that... cough.

Unfortunately, most of the guys were not looking like they were enjoying that performance at all. I mean, Artie and I were dancing along, but I mean seriously.

After practice, I was about to go up to the girls and commend them on such a spectacular performance, when 3 pairs of hands grabbed me from behind and shoved me in the choir room. Apparently when the guys wanted to call an emergency meeting, common courtesies, like simply talking to someone, are ignored.

"Dude, I dunno 'bout you guys, but I'm way too uncomfortable with this whole 'Gaga' theme."

"It's Madonna all over again!"

"You don't think Mr. Schue's gonna make us wear spandex tights or make up or anything… right?"

I was about to interject with a 'wtf?', but Finn beat me to the punch. "You guys, just cool it, alright? I already talked to Mr. Schue, and he's letting us do an alternative that's just as theatrical-" We all looked at him curiously before he let out the final word. "-KISS."

All the guys looked ecstatic almost instantaneously. I, though, was kinda disappointed. I mean, I like KISS and all, it's just I was looking forward to getting to show off more dance moves.

As they huddled together and started to plan out everything ("Wait, that means we still have to wear tights and make up, doesn't it?"), I kinda just sat in the corner to myself. Before they started assigning the whole 'who gets to be who' debate, I stood up.

"If it's okay with you guys, I have something else I wanna do."

They all turned and looked at me like they forgot I was there. They were a little put off for a moment, but finally they decided that it was for the best. I mean, four members, four guys, it worked out.

I on the other hand, had to see a man about a red crown.

* * *

KNOCK KNOCK

I waited nervously at the Hummel front porch. Maybe I should have called first. I mean, what if Kurt was in the shower or something. Wow, why is that the first thing I think of? … But really, I didn't want to disturb him…

The door swung open, and Finn's mom was standing there surprisingly enough.

"Oh hello Mike. Nice to see you again!"

"Um, hello Mrs. Hudson… I didn't know-"

"That I was living here? Oh well, Finn and I just moved in."

I did recall Kurt mentioning that to me; still the sight of Mrs. Hudson was an unexpected surprise.

"Are you here to see Finn?"

"Uh, no actually, I wanted to see Kurt about something, if that's okay."

"Oh of course! Come in!"

I walked into the humble Hummel household and saw Mr. Hummel sitting on the couch, watching the game with Finn. They were both too focused on the game to acknowledge my existence, so Mrs. Hudson just directed me to Kurt's room downstairs.

Kurt was reading a book on his bed. I coughed, and he looked up. "Oh, hello Mikey. What brings you here?"

"Hey I was wondering if you could help me with something for glee club-"

He perked up, shot off his bed, and stood in front of me, practically jumping up and down. "Of course! What'd you have in mind?"

His eagerness kinda intimidated me, but I managed to say something non-awkwardly (Yeah, improvement!). "Well, for the whole theatricality assignment, the rest of the guys wanted to do KISS," Kurt rolled his eyes. "-but after seeing you and the girls do your thing, I sorta was wondering if you could help me with a dance number."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at the last words. "Dance number?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could do the vocals for _Just Dance_. I mean I really love that song, and it has a good rhythm-"

"But you want me to do the vocals. Alone?"

I turned my head a little bit in slight confusion. "Oh, were you wanting to do it with someone else, cause that song's really easy to turn into a duet-"

"Yes, actually," He interrupted. "I did."

"Oh, well who'd you have in mind?"

He looked at me with that 'are you serious?' look and I was seriously taken aback. "Really, Mike? Really? You can come to my house, ask me to do a Gaga number with you and not expect you to sing."

I just stared at him. After I thought about it, yeah, that would make sense.

Perhaps expecting me to back out, Kurt started pleading his case. "Come on, Mikey. It's about time we heard you sing, I mean, Mr. Schue said he heard you singing in the choir room one time-"

I froze. "He told you about that."

"Yes. He said you were a really talented singer and pianist, though I can't believe you did a solo performance and didn't even bother to tell me!"

I shrugged. "It just never came up." And for obvious reasons of course.

"Well, you are definitely overdue for a breakout vocal performance, and I won't take no for an answer. I don't care how much you beg and plead. I don't care if I have to drag you, kicking and screaming, you are doing this-"

"Okay."

"-whether you like it… or…" He stopped and looked at me. "Wait, what?"

"Okay. You're right. I am kinda overdue. I'm going to need a little help with the notes, and you're going to have to learn the choreography I already planned out, but this should be fun."

He stared at me with a shocked expression on his face. He shook himself back to reality and happily accepted the uncharacteristic acceptance of the situation. "Yes, well, okay! Let's get started then." He paused and then went over to this big trunk and pulled out a giant roll of red fabric. Seriously, the thing was as tall as Finn. "But first, we're going to need to make you an outfit."

As he started taking my measurements and sketching some ideas, very intently and passionately, I smiled to myself. I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather sing with for the first time than Kurt Hummel. He's so cute when he's passionate.

* * *

Everyone was waiting in the audience of the auditorium. I was so nervous that I thought I was gonna blow chunks, pee my pants, and pass out, and considering I hadn't eaten for 4 hours, that last one seemed the most likely.

"I don't think-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Kurt grabbed my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye. He wasn't wearing his 8-inch heels in lieu of the intense dance steps I choreographed for us, so the fact that I had to stare downward kinda hurt my neck. "I spent too much time making you that outfit and learning your ridiculous choreography. We are doing this, and we're doing it now!"

I must have still looked extremely uncomfortable, because Kurt let out a sigh and lightened his tone. "Listen, you're going to be great. Believe me, your singing voice is phenomenal. You deserve your spotlight." I smiled and nodded, indicating that I was ready. Before we took our places, he pulled me down and whispered in my ear, "And if you get nervous, just think about how silly that KISS makeup makes the guys look."

That whisper sent shivers down my spine. I chuckled awkwardly and stood in position the curtain rose and the pounding beats radiated from the speakers. Kurt did a little fashion walk from the back of the stage and did what he did best.

**[Kurt]** "_Red One_"

**[Me] **"_Konvict_"

"_Gaga_"

"_Oh-oh-eh_"

**[Kurt] **"_I've had a little bit too much(much)_

_All of the people start to rush"_

**[Me] **"_Start to rush by"_

**[Kurt] **"_A dizzy twister dance_

_Can't find my drink or man_

_Where are my keys_

_I lost my phone"_

**[Me] **_"Oh-oh-oh-oh"_

**[Kurt] **_"What's going on on the floor"_

**[Me] **_"I love this record baby but I can't see straight anymore"_

**[Kurt]**_ "Keep it cool what's the name of this club"_

**[Me] **_"I can't remember but it's alright, alright"_

**[Both] **_"Just Dance gonna be ok_

_Da doo doo doom_

_Just Dance spin that record babe_

_Da doo doo doom_

_Just Dance gonna be ok_

_d-d-d-dance dance dance_

_just j-j-just dance"_

(My solo… eep!)

**[Me]** "_When I come through on the dance floor _

_Checkin out that catalog_

_Can't believe my eyes so many women without a flaw_

_And I ain't gonna give it up_

_Steady tryin' to pick it up like a call_

_Imma hit it up a beat it up latch on to it until tomorrow yeah_

_Shawty I can see that you got so much energy_

_The way you're twirlin' up them hips round and round_

_And there's no reason at all why you can't leave here with me_

_In the meantime stay and let me watch you break it down"_

**[Kurt]** _"And dance gonna be ok_

_Da doo doo doom_

_Just Dance spin that record babe_

_Da doo doo doom"_

**[Both] **_"Just Dance_

_Da doo doo doom_

_Just Dance spin that record babe_

_Da doo doo doom_

_Just dance gonna be ok_

_d-d-d-dance dance dance _

_just j-j-just dance"_

*Insert wicked dance solo here*

The choreography did its wonder of alleviating the stress and nerves. All the spins and tricks we both did really got me going. The gang really loved it too. I realize you're going to have to use your imagination to really enjoy this performance, but believe me, it was epic. As Kurt and I took our final dance pose, the guys gave us a standing ovation and my cheeks just went as red as my jumpsuit. I looked at Kurt, who was beaming.

I looked out to the audience, and the girls were all ecstatic, but I looked at Matt, and even through all that makeup, he looked a little disgruntled.

I caught up with him at his house after school to ask him what was up. He answered the door and just leaned out the opening.

"Hey Matt."

"Hey."

"What's up? You look a little down."

He just shrugged and stared at me. After an awkward second, I asked, "You gonna invite me in?"

He thought about it then shook his head. "Nah, I've got a ton of work, so I can't have any distractions."

He almost shut the door before I put my foot in the doorway. "Dude, what's wrong? You've been avoiding me for days."

He opened the door wide open and stared me down. "Really? I've been the one avoiding you? I'm not the one who's been busy flirtin' it up with Kurt!"

My jaw dropped. I didn't know what got me more: the fact that these words were really coming out of his mouth or the fact that he knew about my feelings for Kurt. Was I really that obvious?

"I-I..."

"You what? You didn't think I could see how goofy you've gotten lately. I mean, it was fun hanging out with them at first, but man, I've gotten sick of you two making kissy faces at each other all the time!"

My mind just went blank. I couldn't comprehend what was going on right now. I mean, my best friend was standing right in front of me, but I didn't recognize him at all.

"Dude, it's not like that-"

"Really? Then how come Tina, Mercedes, even Brittany, who even said herself that she's dumber than a lamppost, can see that you're head over heels?"

I couldn't help crying at that. I was trying so hard to hold back those tears, a single tear fell from each eye.

"W-why are you s-so pissed off about this? I mean, you have no problem w-with Kurt, so…"

He threw his head down and sighed. He calmed down significantly after that. He held his arms open and came closer. "Come here dude."

I met his embrace and just let it out. He took me inside and brought me a tissue box as I sat down on his couch.

"Look, it's not that I can't handle the fact that you like Kurt. It's the fact that my best friend, who I've always told everything, couldn't bring himself to tell me this." I looked down in guilt. He was right. I mean he's seen me through so much. I don't know why I didn't trust him sooner.

"I'm sorry. It's just-" I paused. It was so hard to think after coming to terms with all that shock. "I didn't know how to handle it myself." I looked down and tugged at my sleeves. "If it makes you feel any better, I really never told anyone."

He looked at me and smiled. "Well, to be fair, you really don't have to. You stare at him way too much for there to be any other explanation." I blushed. "But in all seriousness, bro, I'm sorry too. I should have just talked to you. I mean this really isn't something that you'd just open up about willy-nilly."

I chuckled. I was so glad that he was so open about this. It really meant a lot that someone so important to me accepted me despite this.

"Yeah, well, I still should have told you. Maybe you could've helped me out or something."

He raised his eyebrow. "Dude, I'm all for being your wingman, but I mean, that's kinda awkward."

I shoved him in the arm as we shared a mutual laugh. After a second, he looked up awkwardly. "So, is it just Kurt, or do you-"

He didn't have to finish that sentence. I've been wondering the same thing. I mean, before this, I never really looked at guys like that. "I guess it's just Kurt. I mean I don't really think about other guys like that."

He had a relieved look on his face.

"What? Did you think I had a thing for you or something?"

"Well, we did share a tent when we were little!"

If I hadn't seen the way he was smiling, I would have been so pissed at him. I'm glad that even after this little revelation, nothing really changed between us. I hit him with his throw pillow a couple of times and laughed. "Thanks for being so cool about this, Mattie."

"Don't mention it. But seriously, don't call me Mattie. I know Kurt calls you Mikey, so that's just plain weird."

I blushed. "Sorry. He's kinda rubbing off on me."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I could tell. That Gaga number was really telling." I shot him a look before he continued. "But hey, you two are good together. In more ways than one."

More blushing. God, curse my stupid cheeks! "You think so?"

He nodded. "I've never seen you happier."

With that I bit my lip, nervous with what I was about to ask. "You really think I got a shot with him?"

He smirked and leaned back on the couch cushions. "Dude, if we were in any place but Lima, you two would be voted 'Cutest Couple' in the yearbook. Hands down."

Dang, if my cheeks didn't stop blushing, I was sure they'd pop off or something. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Is Superman better than Batman?"

Okay now he was pushing it. Ever since we were little, we've been fighting about who was better. Matt's always favored Superman, while I've always favored Batman (I thought he was Asian for a while… the cartoons make him look that way!).

"Okay now you're pushing your luck!"

"Oh, what you gonna do? Sit on me, Panda?" Psh, Kung Fu Panda reference. Typical.

I gave him my best death glare. "Oh, it's on!"

* * *

_I was originally going to close with an upbeat Pokerface number involving the entire glee club, but like I said, the performances would be much better if you could actually see them. Though, I think we'd all agree that Santana and Mercedes would totally kill that song too._

_Sorry there wasn't much Chummel in this chapter (mostly just Mike), but this chapter sets up some stuff I have planned for Regionals next week. :)_

_Reviews and Critique always welcome._


	8. Faithfully

_I'm kinda sick, so if this sucks, I'm sorry, but it sounds so good in my head! I'm kinda torn though. I want to continue this, but I'm on the fence on how to do it. I'll either:_

_a) keep telling this from Mike's POV _

_or_

_b) Create a new story continuing from Kurt's POV_

_Both options have their pros and cons for what I have planned, but I'd really like some opinions, so if you like this story and want to see it continued, please tell me your advice/opinion!_

_Disclaimer: Do not own glee or Journey songs_

* * *

"Wait, so you're all serious?"

"Yep."

"Totally."

"Ah-huh."

I looked at everybody with total disbelief. "So everybody knows?"

"Well everybody in glee, except for Kurt of course." Mercedes rolled her eyes. "But I mean that goes without saying."

"I just can't believe it. I didn't know it was that obvious!"

"Ha!" Quinn let out a loud laugh. "You may be a lot of things, Mike, but subtle is not one of them. If I had a penny for every time you were staring at Kurt over the past year, I'd have more than enough money to pay for tuition for Harvard for both me and this baby."

I smiled and looked down at Quinn's belly. Her belly was really, really small for someone past the second trimester, or so I've heard. I guess that's why she was able to hide it for so long. Despite how tough her year has been, she still gave off a sort of golden glow.

We were sitting in Mercedes' living room with Matt, Tina, and Artie. Santana, Brittany, and Kurt were at Cheerios practice, and lord knows where Finn, Puck, and Rachel were. I was kinda glad that I could take this time to actually talk to people about my feelings. I had bottled everything so much that my emotions were beginning to fizz out of control. I was just really grateful that everyone was so okay with my little crush.

"Well it's not like it's breaking news," Artie mused. "The signs started off subtle, but eventually they became more frequent. I mean, you don't spend lunch, alone, in the auditorium with someone unless you really want your privacy."

"Needless to say," Tina added, "We've known for a while, so I guess you can say were used to the idea by the time Matt confirmed it to us-"

"Which I'm still pretty pissed off about!" I hit him over the head with one of Mercedes' throw pillows.

"Yeah, yeah, well at least now the only thing left to do is figure out a way to get Hummel off of Finn and onto Mike."

"Oh please." Mercedes flashed the whole 'talk to the hand' face. "Finn is so last month. After we're through with Mike, Kurt's going to forget about Finn altogether, even when they're sharing that room."

I held up my hands in protest. "Wait, wait, I told you guys, I'm not looking to do anything about it yet-"

"Why the hell not?" Mercedes really had her game face on. I was kinda scared actually. "You two are long overdue for some boy lovin', and not the hanky-panky kind, guys. Get your minds outta the gutter!" Matt and Artie giggled like school girls at the words 'hanky-panky', and they immediately stopped after Mercedes eyed them like she was gonna kick them out of her house in their underwear.

"Well, the both of us just got a lot on our plates right now. I don't wanna make it worse."

Mercedes cocked her head and shot me a look. "Really?"

"Well I mean with his dad dating again and his fight with Finn and Cheerios and all the bullying and all, Kurt's basically staring in a soap opera right now."

"Please." Tina held up her hand and rolled her eyes. "If you wanna talk about soap operas, watch Korean dramas. Characters are killed off, turned into animals, and flip-flopping around in relationships faster than Brittany on speed. And that's just in the first half of episode one."

Quinn smirked. "Sarcasm aside, don't you think that he'd want someone to lean on through all of that? Besides, you're not someone who's just going to use him and then throw him away like garbage, right?"

"Right, but…"

"Don't throw your buts at us mister!" Mercedes interjected. Matt was about to make a dirty joke, but recoiled after another warning glare from Mercedes and Quinn. "You like him, and there's a strong possibility that he does too. So what's the problem? And no more excuses."

I looked down and took a deep breath. "Okay, so you guys are right: he'll probably be open to it. I just keep making excuses because… I don't-I don't think I'm ready to be out there yet." I was still looking at the floor, but I could feel their eyes giving me a sympathetic look. "If I come out with this, then I won't be able to stop those guys from throwing him in the dumpster. I won't be able to guard him from any ridicule. And as shallow as it sounds, I don't think I can handle all that being directed at me. I see all the stares and hear all the rumors about Kurt, and though I try to shoot them down, it'll only be a matter of time before there'll be some about me going around, and I won't be able to do anything about it. And don't even get me started on my parents."

There was a long pause, and everyone looked at each other. Then, they all suddenly grabbed my hands and forced me to look up.

"Don't worry about it. We got your back. Just remember: you both have 10 people who'll stand by you guys and defend you no matter what. 11 or 12 including Mr. Schue and Coach Sylvester."

"Cause you know she protects her cubs."

"And more importantly," Mercedes looked me square in the eye with every bit of empathy in her body, "you two need each other. I can tell. Ever since he met you, he's had an extra spring in his step and a sparkle in his eyes. He has feelings for you, even if he doesn't realize it."

I looked at everybody and gave them a big smile. "Thanks guys. I really need that."

"Of Course."

"Anytime."

"But," Mercedes held up her finger in warning. "If you break his heart, Imma bust something more than just your windows. Lemme tell you-" And she added her signature head shake and triple snap, and the mood just suddenly lightened.

The guys and I spent the day playing on the Playstation we brought over while the girls had their iPods out doing some runs and all that jazz. And with all that going on, I had a really good feeling.

* * *

My eyes were locked on the floor. This was the first time since sectionals that we've all been together in the same room and haven't been able to say a single word to each other. Not even the siren call of 3 extra large extra cheesy pizzas could cheer me up.

We all had taken the news that Sue Sylvester was one of the judges at Regionals more or less the same way. Everyone just kinda looked dead. There was an occasional tear here or there, but we all just sat there in the silence, staring in random spots so hard, I was surprised that nothing of Mr. Schue's caught on fire.

Mr. Schue and Quinn walked in from the kitchen and said something. Not that I could remember, and even if it did, it wouldn't matter. The imminent doom of glee club once again hung over our shoulders, but this time, there was no knight in shining armor coming to rescue us. People began to talk around me, but I just sat there in a haze. I just couldn't believe that it would all be over in a week.

After seeing that people were starting up conversations again, I got up and went to the restroom. I splashed some water on my face and looked in the mirror. As my reflection stared back at me, I reflected on how much had really changed over the past year. So much good had come out of the simple act of joining glee club: I found something that I really love, I found someone that I really love, and for the first time in a long time, I actually felt good about myself, and not just the part of myself that was athletic. I had finally come to terms with my creativity and opened up to people more than I ever had before. Sure, I still had a lot of things to deal with, but looking at where I was then and where I am now, I realized that glee was the best thing that has happened to me. Ever.

I got out of the restroom and saw Kurt standing there in his Cheerio uniform. Just seeing him in that uniform reminded me of how much he too had changed over the course of our sophomore year. He went from football player, to Cheerio, to M.C. Hammer, to John Mellencamp all in one year. If I could say that I had a long journey from the start, then his must have been extremely long.

He looked at me with those sky blue eyes, and they still amazed me as much as they did when we first met. He looked like he had been crying for quite a while, but right when our eyes met, his eyes flooded with tears. I enfolded him in my arms just like had many times this year and just cried with him. We sat there for what felt like hours until somehow we had cried until our eyes couldn't take it anymore. Eventually we found our way back to everybody and listened to them talk about their favorite moments from the year.

People started leaving after a while. I got up, not wanting to wallow in depression any longer, and made my way to the door to start the long walk home. Kurt noticed and followed right after me.

"Mike! Mike, wait up!"

I stopped. "Do-do you need a ride home," he asked.

Unable to muster words, I simply nodded. We made our way to his Navigator, and as he pulled out of the apartment complex, he and I both stayed silent. I knew Kurt well enough to know that he really didn't want to feel alone right now, and Finn was going off somewhere with Puck to blow off some steam. Maybe this means something. I mean he could have asked Mercedes or Tina to keep him company, but he asked me. I mean, that's gotta mean something, right?

Then I got to thinking, what was holding me back from really going for it with Kurt? I mean, I know I wouldn't be ready to share our relationship with the entire world, but what's keeping us from starting off small and taking it slow? I mean, I don't have to tell my parents right away… Heck I don't even have to tell them at all!

Before I could pursue these thoughts any further, I realized that we had stopped for a quite a while. I looked out the window and saw that we were, indeed, at my house. I guess Kurt really couldn't find the words to speak right now. Somehow, his eyes found more water in his body to use as tears, and at that image, I couldn't take it anymore.

I reached down and grabbed his hand. He broke his staring contest with deep space and looked down, then looked me in the eyes. Those beautiful eyes. He smiled at me and laced his fingers with mine. He brought me closer into another hug, and we just lingered there for a good chunk of time. Finally, after looking at the time, I silently broke the embrace. He glanced at the time as well and understood.

As I reached for the door handle, I heard him offer a soft whisper. "Thanks Mike."

I turned back to him, not wanting to go. "Thank you."

* * *

We all sat in the break room, anticipation weighing down heavy on our shoulders. Aural Intensity was almost finished with their set, and we were all nervous, yet excited. After a few words of morale from Mr. Schue, everything seemed okay again. We rehearsed day and night to get our regional set list together, and I got to say that the songs we picked are simply spectacular. Rachel and Finn have never sounded better than they did in _Faithfully_, and _Don't Stop Believing_ got my heart pumping every single time we sang it together. Now was the time. This was our moment. We were finally going to take what's ours.

I put my leg up on a chair and started stretching. Brittany, Matt, Santana and I had a pretty intense dance solo coming up. I heard a cough from behind me, and turned expectantly to find Kurt, ninja-like as always, standing there.

"I suppose the term 'break a leg' would be sort of taboo in this situation."

I laughed. "Yeah, well, the sentiment is still very much appreciated."

We smiled and looked into each other's eyes. We came together for a final hug before our final curtain call was sounded.

"This is it." I looked at him. "You ready?"

I had never seen him smile so genuinely before. "Always."

* * *

I sat in the auditorium. Normally I try to lay off the root beer floats, have to maintain my figure you know, but this was definitely a day where I really needed the comfort of that frothy, cool goodness. Despite our best performance ever, we came in last place. I just felt so cheated. After all the trials we had to face, we still ended up losing in the end. It didn't matter how hard we worked or how scary it was that Quinn went into labor or how unfair it was the Sue was a judge. Glee club was over. I just couldn't believe it. Even these words in my head right now taste sour on my tongue. I just wanted to hole up somewhere and cry.

I heard footsteps behind me. Kurt came over and sat right beside me. I looked at him and grabbed his hand. Our fingers laced together as he rested his head on my shoulder. Tears started falling from his eyes.

We sat there for a while in our depression for the longest time.

"You know," I said finally. "We're going to make it through this."

Kurt looked up and me with his curious puppy face.

"No matter how bad this feels right now, we'll make it through this. Glee club may be over, but it's left us something amazing." I squeezed his hand tighter. "I couldn't have asked for a better year. It brought me one of the best friends that I've ever had."

Through the tears that just started to come out harder, he smiled at me. He held my hand tighter as we spent the remaining time we had left to just sit there and take comfort in each other's glow.

* * *

When Mr. Schue told us that we had another year, I couldn't contain my joy. I grabbed Matt and gave him the hardest bro-hug we've had in ages. I picked Tina up and swung her around. I even grabbed Kurt and gave him a noogie! He wasn't too happy about it, but he quickly fixed it back up again and smiled.

As we all sat back down and listened to Mr. Schue's song, I couldn't help but just smile. I wasn't just smiling; I was beaming with joy, so much joy that I couldn't contain it. While Mr. Schue delicately sang his 'Thank you' song to us, I looked at Kurt and suddenly hatched an idea. I pulled out my phone and texted him: '_Meet me in the Auditorium after practice'._

I watched him as he pulled out his phone, grinned, then looked at me and nodded.

* * *

I waited at the back of the audience with anticipation. As I saw him come to the door, I checked on stage to see if Brad was ready. He gave me two thumbs up, and I smiled as I walked up to Kurt.

He looked at me skeptically and asked, "Okay, I've never seen you so excited. What did you eat?"

I gave him a nerdy grin, my hands in my pockets, and feigned the anxiousness, even though I was more excited than nervous. "While I may have had a couple of root beer floats, that's not the reason why I'm so jumpy." He rolled his eyes as I attempted to sound as coy as possible. "I just got to thinking and realized that we really only had one song to ourselves to perform, just you and me."

He raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Uh-huh, so…"

"So…" I held out my hand and led him to the other side of the auditorium. "I was just thinking that although next year could be full of countless opportunities for us to sing together, I really wanted one last chance to, you know, sing one last duet, for old time's sake."

He shook his head with a smile. "Alright, well, what song did you have in mind?"

I grinned. "Well, as I was watching Finn and Rachel during Regionals, I kinda sorta fell in love with the song. Must've been because that's really how I feel about a certain someone right now."

He perked up and shifted awkwardly. Finally, something was sinking in! "Really?"

"Really." I walked backwards to the other entrance of the auditorium. The both of us were in the same position as Rachel and Finn were just a few days ago. "You ready?"

As he nodded slowly, a smile gracing his beautiful face, I signaled Brad to start the song.

I felt the notes reach me deep within my heart and started to sing.

**[Me] **_"Highway run_

_Into the Midnight sun_

_Wheels go round and round_

_You're on my mind"_

**[Kurt]** _"Restless hearts_

_Sleep alone tonight_

_Sending all my love along the wire"_

**[Both]** _"They say that the road _

_Ain't no place to start a family_

_Right down the line it's been you and me_

_Loving a music man_

_Ain't always what it's supposed to be_

_Oh boy _

_You stand by me_

_I'm forever yours_

_Faithfully"_

As the instrumental solo started we ran up to the stage. Our eyes locked on each other more passionately than ever before. We walked closer and closer until we were face to face, less than a foot apart. As we continued singing, belting it out like true Broadway performers, I took his hand in mine and used the other to caress his face as he continued to sing. I've never been closer to him before, spatially or emotionally, and I relished in his voice, his eyes, his touch…

"_I'm still yours_

_Faithfully."_

Our foreheads touched; his eyes closed. I grasped his cheek, drawing him closer and closer until our lips met. It was a light kiss, sweet and airy, but I've never felt anything so amazing in my life. I've finally done what I hoped I would do for the longest time.

Just then I heard cheering from above. We broke the kiss, looked up and saw the entire glee club in the high balcony of the auditorium. Oh God.

Kurt and I both turned tomato red as Mercedes and Tina were giving us many thumbs up and the guys were making those loud whistling noises. I looked over Kurt's shoulder to find Mr. Schue and Artie smiling and giving an approving nod.

I turned back to Kurt and met his gaze. I wanted to say something, but I knew I didn't need to. That kiss just said it all. I lifted his head again and met his lips with mine, this time more passionately, and as the world melted away from the two of us, the last worldly sound I could remember was Mercedes screaming, "Finally!"

At that I smiled and let myself fall back on a cloud, allowing my angel to lead me by the hand somewhere new, somewhere safe, and most importantly, somewhere filled with love.

* * *

_So yeah, please tell me if I should continue this, and if I should, from Kurt's or Mike's perspective._

_I'm anxious to hear your thoughts! _


	9. That's All

_yeah, I'm still sick, so this chapter probably won't be as coherent as the others. Still, I wanted to continue. I'm probably going to continue Mike's perspective, and I've got everything more or less planned out. I just hope I get well soon so that I can write better. _

_Thank you so much for your feedback. It's very much appreciated._

_Disclaimer: I do not own glee or the song used in this chapter._

* * *

I was nervous. There's no point in denying that. When you're in your room, pacing the floor so much that the carpet is completely flat, you know you're beyond nervous and completely FREAKING OUT!

I looked over to the mirror again. Did I use too much hair wax? Was it enough? What if things get serious? Should I have even done my hair up all special? Oh geez.

I looked down at my clothes. Was this outfit fashionable enough? I mean you couldn't go wrong with a white dress shirt and black pants… right? I picked up my 2nd and 3rd choices on the bed. What was Kurt's favorite color again? Was it Dior Grey, or was that just the color of his room? What would he be wearing? Would we match? Oh, it doesn't matter! We're not going out in public!

I checked the roses I got him again. Would he like red roses? Would he have preferred chrysanthemum? I remember him saying that he liked chrysanthemum… or was it tulips…baby's-breath? Ugh! Why was this so hard?

Okay Mike, just breathe. You can do this. I mean, you two have been out before… well I mean not as a couple and with the gang all around… but you guys have fun… well because everyone's cracking so many jokes… but you two have no trouble talking about stuff… but wait, didn't Matt give me a list of taboo topics on a date… OH GOD WHAT WAS ON THAT LIST?

As if sensing my anxiety, Mercedes texted me: _STOP FREAKING OUT! YOU'LL BE FINE!_

As if sensing that Mercedes was sensing my anxiety, Quinn texted me: _She's right, you'll be fine!_

As if sensing that Quinn was sensing that Mercedes was sensing my anxiety, Tina texted me: _They're right! What you've got planned is so sweet! :3_

They must have been all together. I smiled at the sweet gesture.

And then Matt, just being Matt, texted me: _Pix or it didn't happen. Have fun ;P_

Why he would ever want pictures of me and Kurt, I'll never know…

Somehow, all the reassurance made everything better. I actually calmed down a bit. I slipped out of my house without my parents seeing (a full bouquet of flowers would've been really hard to explain… without them wanting to know who they were for…). I put the flowers in the basket of my bike and started to pedal to Kurt's house. In retrospect, I should have asked someone to drop me off, because I was getting sweaty. Once I realized how much I really was sweating, I began to get really, REALLY, nervous. I mean not only was it a bad idea to wear white (sweat stains much!), but the heat seemed to be melting my confidence, because the nerves just came right on back.

I had reached his house before my nerves were spiraling out of control, but still, I couldn't help but feel like I was going to hurl. With every movement I could hear the wet swishing of my shirt. I could actually hear the beating of my heart. As I stood on the porch, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell with my scrawny, shaky little finger.

I waited for what felt like an eternity until Mrs. Hudson opened the door and gave me a light smile. "Hello Mike."

"H-Hello Mrs. Hudson, I'm h-here, well, I'm, uh… you know why… uh…" … Lord, take me now.

She snickered a bit. "Come in, dear." I walked awkwardly inside and saw Mr. Hummel and Finn sitting on the couch. Mr. Hummel looked at me with a scrutinizing eye, but it did make me uncomfortable because he wasn't giving off any hostility (probably because I looked like a drowned rat). Finn took noticed immediately how nervous I was and started smirking, especially at how soiled my shirt was. Mrs. Hudson took the flowers from my hands, mentioning something about putting them in water, but when she brushed against my shirt, she too noticed just how wet I was.

"Oh my, you're drenched! Was it raining or something?"

I chuckled awkwardly. Just know as a general rule that anything I do for the next ten minutes will have the adverb 'awkwardly' describing it. "N-No, no, it's just really hot outside…"

"Well hey, man," Finn rose suddenly. "You can wear something of mine. You don't want to go on a date with a sweat-stained shirt on."

"Really?" I looked at him with such a grateful look on my face.

"Yeah no problem, just follow me."

I nodded and trailed after him to his room. "Although," he bent down to whisper, "Kurt might've enjoyed the whole 'wet t-shirt' idea."

I was glad we were out of their parent's earshot and eyesight, because I was blushing like crazy. Thanks Finn, you're making this evening start out great.

He closed the door of his small box of a room. Since their little fight, Kurt told me that he and Finn had gotten separate rooms to keep things in check. Finn picked up a powder blue short sleeve shirt that was hanging on his closet doorknob. "Here you go!"

"Thanks… um… why did you have this ready?"

"Mercedes dropped it off earlier. She said it was 'insurance' or something."

Wow, the gang had really covered all the bases. It was light and thin, perfect for summer. I really needed to remember to thank her later. I slipped off my shirt and put the new one on.

"How do I look?"

Finn smiled and nodded generically. "Spiffy!"

I sat down on his bed and an awkward silence ensued. "You know," Finn piped up, "Kurt's been just acting like a nervous wreck too."

I smiled shyly. "Yeah?"

He let out a chuckle. "Yeah, you should have seen his room this morning. It looked like a tornado had run through the place… 11 times!"

I let out a laugh. I eased up a little bit as he continued to tell me some jokes. "Yeah, he even asked me for some advice. That's when you know he's a little cuckoo!"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't much better dude. I'm just so nervous. I want everything to be-"

"Perfect?" I nodded. "Well, then you got nothing to worry about. So long as you don't do anything stupid, I'm sure tonight will be perfect." Coming from him that meant a lot. "Just relax. I'm sure he'll enjoy whatever you've got planned."

I smiled and thanked him for the words of comfort. After a couple minutes, we went back out to the living room, where Mr. Hummel tried to give me the third degree about my 'intentions'.

Then Kurt walked in the room.

Something about seeing him in a plain pastel-grey t-shirt and jeans was really… nice… simple, yet still beautiful. His eyes were glowing like diamonds, and his smile sent shockwaves through my nervous system. I stood there in awe as I was reminded of the angel that saved me from that dumpster almost a year back.

"Wow, you look… wow… and just… wow…" Oh jeez. Use your words Mikey!

Kurt giggled. "You're not so bad yourself." He spotted the flowers that Mrs. Hudson just placed on the living room table. "Did you bring these?" I nodded shyly, afraid that I would say something else in a less than articulate manner. He smiled at the gesture. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

"Just like you." Finally proving that I could form a coherent sentence, I held out my arm and asked him, "You ready to head out?"

He took my arm, sending yet another jolt up my spine, and nodded. As we were leaving through the front door, I could see Finn give him two thumbs up. Oh Finn.

We walked to his car, and as he took out his keys, I stopped him. "Actually, I was hoping that you would let me drive…"

He raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

I looked at him in as loving a way as possible. "Do you trust me?"

He giggled and sighed. "Yes, I do."

He gave me the keys, and I pulled a blindfold out of my back pocket. "And also… if you wouldn't mind…"

He looked at me again with another playful look. "You're such a dork." He took the blindfold and slipped it on as he carefully got into the passenger side of his Navigator.

As, I slowly bobbed and weaved through the roads, I kept an eye on Kurt. I hoped that he'd like what I planned. Please let him like it. I made sure I parked in a safe place. I open the door for Kurt as he carefully stepped out of the vehicle. I took his hand and led him up the grassy hill.

"Okay, so I gather that we're in Lincoln Park, going up the hill near the large lake…"

I looked, back, shocked. "How'd you know?"

"Just because I couldn't see where we were going, doesn't mean I couldn't mentally plot it out." Curse him and his imagination.

"Well then," I pushed him down to sit on the blanket I had prepared earlier. "You probably know what happens next."

I took of his blindfold to reveal a quaint little picnic that I set out for the two of us under the big oak tree next to the lake. Earlier, Matt and I put paper lanterns in the tree and lit candles on lotus flowers in the water. I brought a basket of hand-tossed salad, spaghetti and meatballs, breadsticks, and Mercedes' famous triple layer chocolate cake. The look on Kurt's face was so sweet and innocent that I nearly died.

"Wow. This is amazing."

I smiled at his comment and turned on some music. "Shall we?"

We plopped down and began to enjoy our meal. My fear that we wouldn't have anything to talk about seemed silly and baseless because we talked non-stop for what seemed like hours. We talked about everything: life, family, friends, our places in the world and just about everything in between. We had so many laughs and meaningful stares. We even had a little 'Lady and the Tramp' moment.

We finished the salad and spaghetti and proceeded to demolish the delicious cake before us. We took turns spoon feeding each other, laughing in between bites at each other's 'say ah' face. At the last bite, Kurt found the need to squish the spoon all over my face so that I had a dripping chocolate mustache and matching beard. I was about to splash him with my glass of water before he pulled me in and kissed the chocolate off my face (literally the sweetest kiss I've ever had).

Just as he did this, one of my favorite Michael Buble songs came on the stereo. I stood up and held out my hand. "You wanna dance?"

He nodded and took my hand. I picked him up and grabbed his hand and rested the other one on his waist. He rested his head on my shoulder as we slowly rocked back and forth to the melody. I was so moved at that moment that I opened my mouth to sing along.

"_I can only give you love that lasts forever,_

_And a promise to be near each time you call_

_And the only heart I own_

_For you and you alone_

_That's all,_

_That's all..._

_I can only give you country walks in springtime_

_And a hand to hold when leaves begin to fall_

_And a love whose burning light_

_Will warm the winter's night_

_That's all,_

_That's all._

_There are those I am sure who have told you,_

_They would give you the world for a toy._

_All I have are these arms to enfold you,_

_And a love time can never destroy._

_If you're wondering what I'm asking in return, dear,_

_You'll be glad to know that my demands are small._

_Say it's me that you'll adore,_

_For now and evermore_

_That's all,"_

He raised his head and looked at me straight on. This song said everything that the both of us were feeling, and I knew Kurt could feel it. His eyes were glowing with a warm happiness and love that I could only dream about seeing before. And as the song drew to an end, our lips met again, and from that moment on, I could honestly say that this was the best first date ever.

"_That's all."_


	10. For the First Time

_So yeah, with all the drama of season 2 that Ryan Murphy imposed on Kurt, I really couldn't make this a real happy chapter. But hopefully I can do more next chapter. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own glee or this awesome song by the Script_

* * *

That summer was filled with some of the best moments in my entire life. Kurt and I shared many more moments like the ones on our first date. We laughed, we cried, we prattled on endlessly about meaningless stuff and then we talked about things that really mattered. We watched his Broadway plays on DVD and my extensive collection of dance films, and by the third week, all the movies blurred together into one memory: us. Together. Always.

The gang really supported us too. We hung out in groups just so Kurt and I had an excuse to be together in public. It had gotten to the point where the roller rink, the bowling alley, and the mini golf course employees knew the entire New Directions team by name. The girls were all extremely supportive of Kurt and me. The guys made some inappropriate jokes now and again, but they were cool.

I even got to know Kurt's dad a little better. After the initial period of skepticism and protective parenting, he really warmed up to me. We spent some days just hanging out with Finn, watching some games, and having some real bonding time. Considering that I'm not really that close to my own dad, that really meant a lot. So, yeah, those first few weeks of summer were the best I ever had.

Then reality set in.

It was Saturday night, bro's night, and Matt invited me over to his house. This was actually the first time in a while that I'd be just me and him, so I was excited. Then I saw the 'For Sale' sign on his front lawn. I ran up and started pounding on his door.

When he answered, I pointed to the sign and yelled, "Dude, what the hell?"

He sighed. "Yeah man, that was my reaction too." He gestured for me to come inside. We sat down on the couch and he started to explain. "Dad's company just downsized a lot. They had to cut a few branches, but he didn't lose his job. Only thing is, they had to move him and most of his team to Chicago."

"Chicago?" I was in complete and total shock. This came out of nowhere. I mean, this… this…oh man…

I leaned back in outrage. Matt just looked downcast and disappointed. "So when's the move?"

He looked at me and sighed again. "First week of August." Damn, that was in two weeks. We sat there for a good half an hour just wallowing in depression. We'd been best friends for a decade and a half and now things were changing. I just couldn't imagine life here in Lima without Matt Rutherford by my side. Unfortunately, I would have to expand my imagination a little bit.

He punched me in the arm and grinned. "Hey, that's plenty of time to stir up trouble, right?" I tried to smile, but I just couldn't find it in me. He was right, though. We had a few short weeks together, might as well make the most of them.

We treasured his last days in Lima, but they flew by in no time at all. Even our goodbye seemed so surreal. It was like a hazy dream. I don't remember specifics, but I remember feeling so sad and depressed as we hugged for one last time before his moving truck drifted away.

I also had family drama to deal with. My parents still didn't seem open to the idea of homosexuality. My cousin in California came out to his parents, but his parents were okay with it. We visited for a week after Matt left Lima, and my cousin and his parents seemed closer than ever. My aunt and uncle had always been way more understanding than my parents, and they said that on some level they always knew. They gave me hope for me and my parents, until I heard them talking to each other. My parents were having a shouting match with them. They couldn't believe that they would ever be okay with this. It broke my heart.

My depression continued on into the start of the new school year. I mean, who could blame me? My best friend left, my parents showed no signs of acceptance, and I couldn't be open about my relationship with Kurt without painting two huge targets on our backs. I mean, Kurt didn't mind. He was just happy to have someone to love.

The bullying got worse for him though. The dumpster dives and slushies got became more and more frequent, and I was only around to save him for about half of the attacks before getting hit myself. Everyone in glee started getting slushied more and more, but for Kurt, things were 10 times as bad. Through it all, he was so resilient and understanding. He focused on the inevitability of him leaving Lima in a couple of years and becoming a huge Broadway star. But I still felt bad that I couldn't openly defend him. If I came out, though, things would only get 50 times worse for the both of us, and I couldn't let that happen.

But it happened anyway.

We were in glee club, goofing around as usual, when Ms. Pillsbury came into the room and asked for Kurt and Mr. Schuster. They talked for a while outside. Then Kurt came back in, visibly shaken. He ran for his stuff. I asked him what was wrong, but he just froze, a blank look on his face. He held out his hand, signaling for me and Finn to go with him. I looked into his eyes, laden with immense sadness and hurt. I took his hand as we found our way to his car. He was so broken up that I offered to drive. After a while he finally told me the news: his dad had a stroke. He didn't get any more specific than that, but he didn't need to. I knew from the expression on his face and the things they said about stroke in health class to know that this was serious.

The three of us found Mrs. Hudson already there in the hospital. We saw Mr. Hummel lying on the bed, completely motionless. Kurt went to his side and grabbed his father's hand. Tears went streaming down his face. I felt so out of place amongst this group of people who had recently started to become a family, but Kurt seemed to need all the comfort in the world right now.

I visited again later that week. It turns out that the stroke was in the left side of Mr. Hummel's brain, leaving his entire right side weak. He could barely lift up his right arm, and his speech was seriously impaired, along with his memory. Kurt seemed to stay strong through the ordeal though. His situation put my depression into perspective. Even though I wasn't as close to my dad as he was, if I saw my dad like this, I'd break down on the spot. Kurt's inner strength always astounded me.

The everyday hospital visits seemed to have taken a toll on the poor fellow. It had even gotten to the point where he neglected his daily skin care routine. I did the best I could to fight off all the bullies while still hiding under the radar. It didn't matter to Kurt when he got bullied in school though. All he cared about was his dad.

Eventually, Burt Hummel got better. He walked with a limp and had to carry a cane, but he was on his feet and breathing, which was all that mattered. Kurt was just happy to get him home after a month in the hospital. None of them suspected the surprise Burt asked me to put together the day he came home from the hospital though.

I had put everything in place. All the flowers were strategically placed. All the furniture was moved to ease Burt's path. I lit a couple of candles and had Kurt's iPod playing some of the best love songs in the background. Everything was perfect, and Carole Hudson definitely noticed the second she walked through the door. She inched her way to the center of the living room, awestricken at the sight before her, and when she turned around, Burt Hummel was standing there, with small box in his hand.

Carole's eyes started watering as Burt opened the box and revealed an engagement ring. "I-I'd get d-down on one knee I-if I could…" He piped out, but she shook her head and drew a finger to his mouth. He didn't need to say anything more. She took the ring, slipped in on her finger and kissed Burt Hummel square on the lips.

Kurt was tearing up, as was Finn, though he'll never admit it. After a celebration ensued, I bowed out of the family's revelry.

Kurt found me in the auditorium the next day. "How long have you and dad been planning that?"

I smiled and shifted coyly, like a giddy school girl. "Oh I dunno, a while I guess."

He giggled and paused, staring at me with those wonderfully pristine eyes. He walked up to me and kissed me lightly on the lips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I sat down on the edge of the stage and patted the spot next to me, indicating that I wanted him to sit down. He did, and as he sat down, I said, "You've had an intense first month of school, haven't you?"

He sighed. "Yes! You know it. I'm just glad that things are finally turning around. I was getting sick of staring at those sickly green pastel walls and smelling that horrible hospital food on dad's breath!"

I knew his frustrations ran deeper than that, but you know, I let him have his moment. "Oh you poor thing!" I let him rest his head on my shoulder as I pat it lightly. "But really, how are you doing?"

He rested his head on my shoulders. "Good. Tired, I guess. I'm just surprised that I could have dealt with what was going on at both school and with dad-"

"Psh, I'm not."

He looked up. "I beg your pardon."

I looked back at him, one eyebrow raised. "You heard me! Kurt, you're one of the strongest people I know. I don't know anyone who could have dealt with both the constant bullying and caring for a sick parent and still had the strength to hold their head up high with hope that things will be okay." He blushed. "Really, your amazing."

He rested his head back on my shoulder.

Later we performed a group number in honor of Kurt. I suggested a new song by a band called The Script because it completely summarized everything that was going on right now. I was really grateful that Mr. Schue made all the solos for me. I was humbled, especially since I got to sing these words to Kurt.

_**[Me] **__"She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart_

_While I'm drinking jack all alone in my local bar_

_And we don't know how"_

_**[All] **__"How we got in to this mad situation_

_Only doing things outta frustration"_

_**[Me] **__"Trying to make it work but man these times are hard_

_She needs me now but I can't seem to find a time,_

_I've got a new job now on the unemployment line,_

_And we don't know how"_

_**[All] **__"How we got into this mess_

_Is it god's test_

_Someone help us 'cause we're doing our best"_

_**[Me] **__"Trying to make it work but man these times are hard_

_But we're gonna start by"_

_**[All] **__"Drinking old cheap bottles of wine_

_Sit talking up all night_

_Saying things we haven't for a while_

_A while _

_We're smiling but we're close tears,_

_Even after all these years_

_We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time"_

_**[Me] **__"Yeah... _

_Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,_

_Sit talking up all night,_

_Saying things we haven't for a while,_

_We're smiling but we're close to tears,_

_Even after all these years,_

_We just now got the feeling that we're meeting, for the first time_

I found Kurt and sang straight to him. I hoped that our love could see us through the hardships we had to endure from this point on. We endured so much already, I just wanted to make sure that the both of us were okay. I wanted him to know that I loved him with all my heart.

"_Oh these times are hard,_

_Yeah they're making us crazy_

_Don't give up on me baby"_


	11. Bliss

_I am so mad at myself right now. I mean, I get sick and can't write worth poop for like a week (the most recent two chapters were proof of that). On top of that, I'm so anxious to write this thing, but __I have major writer's block. On top of THAT, I'm just so dang frustrated with my writing in general. I know I could do better. ugh, well hopefully this turned out better. _

___Disclaimer: I do not own glee._

* * *

They say Junior Year is your hardest year, and while I don't exactly know who 'they' are, well, I'd gotta say, they're absolutely right.

Football's gotten more intense since Coach Beiste took over. I mean, you've gotta give her a lot of props; she single handedly turned the Titans from the 'special-needs' team to the dream team. Still, I know I complained about last year having an intense football workout/practice regimen, but this year feels like last year on crack… and steroids… and speed… and whatever else makes you super active and on edge. Seriously, my limbs have never been so sore.

My parents also enrolled me in some SAT prep classes. I mean, they're not so bad, it's just that I average out at about a 1990-2000 on practice tests, which is good, but my parents were like, "NO! You need to be in the 2100-2200 range!" So yeah, given that I've already kinda plateau-ed score-wise, I'm kinda nervous on principle.

I also took extra AP classes, and I suppose it's obvious who suggested that… *cough*parents*cough* … but you know, it's fine. The people aren't as low brow, but they just sound so uptight. I mean, the girl who sits next to me in Pre-cal seems to be either on the verge of a nervous breakdown or really needing to go to the restroom because she's always rocking back and forth and shaking. It's kinda creepy. And don't even get me started on homework… ugh…

At any rate, I am very busy, like very-very busy, so it's no surprise that Kurt and I really haven't spent some real quality time together in the last few months. I mean in addition to dealing with SAT's and AP's, he's also pretty much planning his parents' wedding, and I've got to say, he's overworking himself. It's not because his parents are forcing him to plan the whole thing; I mean, he offered, but still, it's scary at how intense he's getting. One time, at lunch, he showed me samples colors for the wedding. He held up to cards that were, to me, the exact shade of red and asked which one was better. No matter which one I picked, he went on a long- as if he'd already planned it out- speech about the benefits of the other color, and when I said, "Okay the other one's good too," he switched sides! I swear, I love him, but he's got to calm himself.

And that's why I invited him over to my house for a little R & R. Of course, he thinks it's because I want to help him with 'school work', but, you know, he says potato, I say tomato… yeah I watched some of the 'Bring It On' movies during the summer.

Right when I answered the door, he busted through the doorway, no kiss, no hug, no eye contact even, and just started yammering on and on about the Civil War. His nose was pretty much buried in his text book as he walked instinctively to where my couch usually was and tried to sit down. Funny thing was, it wasn't there. He looked up, shocked, and realized that my furniture had all been put up against the wall.. He looked over to me with that adorable doe-eyed Bambi look of his and, as if he read my mind, realized that I had something more than studying in mind.

"Mikey… what's going on here?"

I did Finn's awkward 'constipated baby' face and looked at him with feigned innocence. "Well, you've been working so very hard lately that I thought we'd take a day to let loose and have fun for a bit…" I picked up some loose clothing that I had ready for him. "Here, you're gonna want to change into something a little bit more loose."

He looked a little offended that I, of all people, would suggest his outfit was under par but then shook his head and tried to look sternly at me. "Mike, we have a history test in a week-"

"Kurt, we just took a test two days ago… the next test's not for a week and a half…"

"Well," he shrugged, "luck favors the prepared, and I definitely feel that I could have prepared better for that last one-"

I stuck out my hand, making him realize that he was still sitting on my hardwood living room floor, and helped him up. I grabbed his shoulders and had him looking me straight in the eye. "Kurt, you're over working yourself. You've got to stop trying to stretch yourself too thin. You and I both know that you're little habit of trying too hard at everything is your way of dealing with stress," His eyes gave in to this realization as I said this, "and that needs to stop, like now, or your skin's gonna break out like crazy."

The pure fear in his eyes, honestly, made me giggle at first, and then I realized that my message had gotten through. Dang I'm good! He dropped his head and rested it on my shoulder. "You're right. I have been a little crazy lately."

"A little?"

He shoved me a little bit and looked at the clothes that I had offered him. They were some black and yellow shorts that had gotten just a little too small for me and a black t-shirt with a Pikachu on it, and he just looked at me, shaking his head with a smile. "You're such a dork."

I flashed him my dorky smile and kissed him on the nose. "But I'm your dork…"

With that, he went to the bathroom to change and emerged minutes later, his clothes neatly folded and clutched in his hands, with my clothes on and an amused look on his face. "I look like I'm ten years old in this shirt."

I laughed. "Funny, that's how old I was when I outgrew that."

He wrinkled his nose and walked towards the center of the room. "So what are we doing today?"

I smiled and dug through a duffle bag I had sitting next to me. "Think fast!"

I tossed him some sai daggers, and amazingly he caught them and twirled them around with surprisingly apt coordination. "Sai daggers… why do you have these?"

I twirled my own pair in my hands. "Well, you know how I'm always telling you about your amazingly innate ninja skills, right? Well, I just wanted to, you know, test them out, seeing as you told me you were trained with these."

He eyed me suspiciously. "Really?"

"Yes, really. And you need another outlet, you know, something to help you blow off some steam."

"You just wanna recreate the scene from The Mummy Returns, don't you?"

I smiled. "Well, those couldn't have been sai, I mean, Egypt didn't have contacts with Japan at the time, but, yes, the idea's crossed my mind."

He giggled and twirled his daggers as we slowly started circling the room, mirroring each other's steps. "Are you sure this is the way you want me to blow off steam? I mean, I could go all 'Electra' on you."

Slowly copying his movements, I shrugged. "These aren't made of metal. We can't get hurt or break anything. Besides, I think I can handle you."

He raised his eyebrow. "Humph, well, we'll see about that."

He took his stance, holding his daggers in a ready position and egged me on. I did the same and prepared for the onslaught. After a short pause, he lunged forward and attacked with multiple slices. I blocked and started my retreat, and in a matter of seconds, he had me backed up to the wall. Amazed at his skill, I stepped up my game and went on the offensive. I suppose I should be surprised, Kurt always was a very feisty guy, but I could hardly recognize Kurt like this: so methodic, so focused, so intent, so hot… Ahem! Well, um, you get the picture.

We continued like that for a while, forcing each other from the living room, to the stairs, back down again, and back up, then back down a couple of times. Finally, as if he had a sudden stroke of genius, Kurt somehow flicked his dagger in his wrist to knock both of mine out of my hands at the same time. Defenseless, I looked at him in total surprise as he jumped on me, locking his legs around me, and pinning me to the floor with the sheer weight of his push. I would have been in complete in total pain… if I weren't concerned about the person straddling me with sai daggers in his hands.

I looked up at him as he smiled at me, a sight I hadn't seen for the last couple of weeks, and started to blush. "I win!" he said, laughing with such enthusiasm. I hadn't seen him this happy in such a long time. He looked me straight in the eyes, and we shared a tiny 'just-sat-there-lost-in-each-others'-eyes' moment. He bent down to kiss me, but reaching his hand to his neck, he let out a cry of pain.

"You okay?"

He rolled off of me and sat up next to me. "Yes, I'm fine. I've just had this crick in my neck for weeks now and well…" He trailed off as he moved his head around to try and soothe it.

I got up and knelt behind him. I put my hand to his neck and slowly tried to ease the knots out of his neck. He instantly relaxed, melting like chocolate beneath my fingers. "Feel okay?"

All he could do was let out a grunt, which I just took as a yes, and continued to ease his aching muscles. For such a petite guy, he was abnormally tense. He had so many knots in all the muscles on his neck all the way to his shoulders and even in his lower back. Somehow he had gotten completely faced down on the floor, still melting like chocolate beneath my fingertips, and I was straddling him, working out the kinks in his lower back. He had gotten past groaning and started full out moaning, which made me blush even harder every time he did, which, incidentally, was a lot.

I continued until I realized he had fallen asleep. He was so deeply asleep that I could pick him up, carry him to my bed, and tuck him in before he even so much as made a peep. The second I put him down, he instantly curled up with my pillows and hugged them like he was a tiny six year old tired from a day of playing. I couldn't help but smile at the utterly mind-blowing cuteness that I was witnessing. I kissed him on the forehead, to which I swear he smiled, and proceeded downstairs to replace the furniture that I had moved before my parents got home, even though I knew neither of them would be home for at least five, maybe six, hours. They were working overtime, which meant that I would have to make dinner for myself, which sucks for them because I am an excellent cook.

Kurt woke up an hour later, completely and utterly refreshed. "Have a good nap?" I asked him.

He stretched as he made his way down the stairs and sat in my lap on the couch. "Yes, yes I did." He smiled at me and wrapped his arms around my neck before planting a really passionate kiss square on my lips that left me both thirsty and wanting more all at the same time. We proceeded to make out some more, much to my pleasure (tee hee), but after half an hour, Kurt broke the chokehold our tongues had on each other.

"While I'd love to sit here and do this for another five, maybe six hours, I really got to get home and study-"

"Boo, studying!" I wrinkled my nose and tried to recapture his lips. I almost succeeded, but he got up. I shot him a puppy dog face, complete with quivering lip, which usually would be his kryptonite, but he somehow resisted and picked up his stuff.

"Seriously, I got to go, but thank you." He smiled. "Really, thank you; I needed this." He kissed me one last time and went for the door. "See you tomorrow!"

And, yeah, that day proceeded as normal as it could get. I made dinner, went to sleep before my parents got home, and continued on to the next day.

I realize that with the way I set that up, my parents would come home while I was massaging Kurt or find us in some other awkward and incriminating position, but really, nothing exciting like that happened that day. Sorry to be such a disappointment. The only reason I reveal the glorious details of that day is because that day was the last day in a while that Kurt and I shared something special. That was the last day that we would spend together as a couple. That was the last day that either of us would ever share something so unbridled with joy and happiness. That was the last day that he would look me in the eye and kiss me without any hurt, pain, or sorrow deep in his eyes. Because after that day, everything changed.

* * *

_Yeah, I'm usually not a big fan of cliff hangers, but I've got to seriously think about the next chapter for it to be any good. _

_Tell me what you think!_


	12. Almost Lover

_I worked really hard on this chapter, so it better be worth it. Sorry this is turning into such a drama, but this is really how I think that the story would play out. Sorry about the last few chapters, but you know. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own glee_

* * *

"Ugh! I knew we should have studied more for that test!"

"Oh Kurt, you're stressing over nothing. That test was easy, and besides, you studied like a madman for that test."

"Rachel's right! You probably did fine, so stop stressin' that pretty little head of yours and relax!"

Kurt took a deep breath as he continued walking, smiling at Tina, Rachel, and Mercedes. "You guys are probably right. I'm just so stressed lately… I don't know…"

Mercedes wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Aw, you poor thing!" Kurt eyed her for her sarcasm. "Well, we've still got half the mall to ransack for some intense retail therapy!"

Kurt smiled and laughed as the four of them continued to strut in a straight line. It was good that he was enjoying himself; at least someone was. "How you holding up, Mikey?"

I trailed behind them, barely able to see anything because of all the stuff they made me carry. We had already been to Forever 21, DSW, Guess, and probably four other places already. After a while, the stores kinda just blurred together. All I knew was that after 2 hours of 'retail therapy', I was ready to call it a day, but that didn't seem likely. Darn it! I suppose I should be happy. Kurt's getting some well deserved de-stressing time, and I guess you could say we're spending quality time together. At least with Quinn back on the Cheerios, I only have to carry four sets of bags instead of the usual five. Silver linings always make things better… NOT!

At any rate, I responded with a grunt since I didn't have the energy to form a coherent sentence. The four of them just smiled and continued on in their quest for even more things that I'm sure they did not need.

After another hour and a half, they took pity on me and let me take a rest in the food court. Kurt patted me on the head and told me that he was gonna get me bottled water or something. I couldn't really tell; I was exhausted. When I realized that Kurt was done for ten minutes, I started to look around to see where he was.

And there he was: talking to Blaine.

…

Yeah, usually I don't do the whole 'over-possessive-jealous-boyfriend' thing (well as far as I knew. This was my first relationship), but something about Blaine just made me wanna steal Kurt away and say, "Leggo my eggo!" When Kurt realized that I had realized that he was talking to Blaine, he walked over, Blaine in toe, and handed me the water bottle.

"Sorry Mikey! I got a little sidetracked!" Yeah, I'll bet. "You remember Blaine, right?"

He held out his hand. "Nice to see you again!"

I tried not to eye him suspiciously, though I probably ended up looking constipated as a result, and shook his hand. "Likewise."

Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but the girls, who had been making some awkward 'O-snap!' faces since Blaine walked over, beat him to the punch. "Kurt, can we talk to you for a second?"

Before he could even lift a finger in protest or questioning, they whisked him away to some far regions of the universe, leaving me sitting there, awkwardly, with the guy who's I was pretty sure had a thing for my boyfriend. Yeah…

We sat there silently for a couple of awkward seconds before Blaine finally said something. "So Kurt tells me things are going well between the two of you."

"Yeah, well, I'm doing my best, I guess…"

He eyed me with a little suspiciousness, evaluating my uncertainty. "Everything okay between you two?"

I tensed up. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. Couldn't be better. Ah huh, peachy keen, a-okay." His gaze had turned dagger-like, jabbing me repeatedly until I caved. "Well, I – well, um…" I looked down. "Can I ask you something personal?"

He shifted to be more comfortable. "Sure, shoot."

I took a breath. "You've been in a relationship before, right?" He nodded. "Well, I was just wondering, I mean… do you thing I'm being selfish, keeping us in the closet like this?"

He let out a sigh. "Can I be brutally honest?" I nodded. "Well, then frankly, while selfish isn't necessarily the word I'd use, more like inconvenient, but yes, I think that keeping things under wraps really isn't the best thing for your relationship, especially with all the things going on with Kurt right now. He told you about his situation with Karofsky in the locker room, yes?" I nodded again. "Well then, I just feel that with Kurt and the type of guy that he is, he needs… more, I guess. Ugh, I don't know how to describe it."

He looked down a bit, trying to gather his words. "I was in a relationship like yours, except I was the out one. It was during a stressful time in my life, and I guess, I just wanted someone to be there for me always, but we just couldn't. I realized that my partner wasn't ready, and that's why he was keeping the secret, but… I guess I wanted something more."

I look down, sad that he had confirmed everything that I had been apprehensive about for the past few weeks. I mean, all the bullying at school was at an all time high, and Kurt was really suffering… and I couldn't do anything. I mean, I did the best I could, I stopped Karofsky and the others at every chance I got, but those guys always found some spare moment when my back was turned to do something. It hurt, feeling so helpless. It just made me feel so worthless. "I-I would imagine so…"

He threw up his hands in protest. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is what Kurt feels too, it's just-"

"I get it." He looked at me, a little relieved. "I've just been thinking lately. I mean, I want to come out, I mean I really care about him. It's just that my parents are nowhere near the point of acceptance. They'd flip out if they found out. But more than that…" I paused, trying to stir up the things I'd been feeling for a while, "I wouldn't be able to help Kurt anymore if I were out. I mean, I can barely help him deal with those thugs now. If I come out, not I'll be painting a target on both our backs, and things will just get worse."

"You don't know that." He looked at me sternly. "Sure, jerks will be jerks, but at least you'll have each other, right?"

I tried to look him back in the eye and see the validity of his argument. I tried so hard, believe me I did. It was just fear that was holding me back. I bit my lip, wanting so badly for things to be different, for me to have the courage that seemed to come so easy for Blaine. But that courage just wasn't there.

I looked him in the eye. "Kurt deserves someone who will be there for him, always, and while I want to come out, so badly, I just… can't." He let out a sigh, but I had another point to get across. "But I can't just sit idly by as he gets squashed every single day. What Karofsky's doing is wrong… so I have a proposition for you."

* * *

The crimson flowers that Kurt chose were beautiful. They accented the pale church walls rather nicely. The church itself, though, with its remarkably breathtaking stained-glass windows was truly awe-inspiring. Even though Kurt fully expressed his disbelief in God, his dad had grown up Catholic, and so had Carole, so a church was a must. Only trouble I had, though, was finding Kurt in all this pristine glory.

I opened the chapel doors to find him on the altar, fixing the arrangements of flowers that were already seemingly perfect. I walked down the aisle, and at my steps, he looked up at me and smiled. Then I realized what exactly was going on: me walking down the aisle, him waiting at the altar, both of us in suits… please tell me you get the picture.

As I stood face to face with him, I could see a genuine happiness in his eyes. "Excited?"

He just kept beaming and nodded. I touched my hand to his cheek as he closed his eyes and placed his own hand over mine. He pulled me in closer and hugged me. We stood there for a while just drinking in each other's aura. His aura was one of happiness, hope, and pure light. It almost brought me to tears. I wanted to tell him how I was feeling. I wanted to tell him. I wanted to.

He broke the embrace and looked at me, his smile still stretching from ear to ear. He put his hand on my cheek, silently thanking me for my support. Psh, support. Where was I when Karofsky threatened his life? He went off to go check some other aspect of the event that needed tending, leaving me there, and my heart still heavy with the burden of a secret. I'll tell him tomorrow. Let him reserve this day for happiness. He deserves it.

* * *

I was late for school again. I really need to get a car or something, because this was getting ridiculous. I'm here again, bobbing and weaving around mailboxes, trashcans, and street lamps, trying to get to an institution of pain and suffering. Oh joy.

I made it to the parking lot, hearing the first bell ring in the distance, when I saw it. No, it wasn't another dumpster full of apple cores and a plucky teenage heartthrob careening out of control. Far worse. It was Dave Karofsky harassing some poor, unfortunate soul… a soul that I recognized to be none other than Kurt Hummel. My Kurt Hummel.

He was frisking him around, intimidating him and looking hostile, so that was enough to make me snap. I walked straight up behind him as he raised his fist, turned him around and started punching him right in the face. After a couple of blows, he fought back. Then after a couple of hits, everything went black.

Black as coal.

* * *

I woke up, my head spinning. No delusional feeling. No euphoric hallucinations. Nothing. Just a sharp pain around my eye and other places on my chest and arms. I tried to get up, but a hand stopped me. A familiar gentle hand. My angel stood by my side with an ice pack ready in his hands.

He smiled lightly and put the ice pack to my left eye. I smirked at him. "Haven't we been here before?"

He giggled. "Yes, well, we've got to stop meeting like this." He brushed my cheek, the sweetest sadness in his eyes. He didn't want me to see this though, so he tried to cover up with more humor. "You look like Prince Zuko from Avatar."

I laughed. "Does that make you Mai?"

He smiled. "I don't think I could ever be that depressing."

We made eye contact again, and shock waves went down my spine. I had to tell him. I couldn't keep it in any longer. "I need to tell you something."

I sat up slowly, removing the ice pack from my eye and turned to face him straight on. "You're not happy."

He looked at me, surprised, and opened his mouth to protest, but I continued.

"You're not happy. You don't like how you have to hide your relationship with me. You don't like how all these people… how one person in particular… treats you. You don't like how all the people in power here don't seem to care and won't do anything about it. You want to be free. I can see it, and it kills me every day. It kills me how I can't help you. It kills me that you're hurting so much. It kills me that I can't be there to for you just because I'm too afraid of being put out."

He just looked at me, his eyes showing surprise and confusion as to where this was going.

"I want what's best for you. I want to protect you. That's why I talked to the headmaster at Dalton Academy." At that name, his surprise peaked. "I showed him and their show choir director videos of you singing, dancing, even footage from last year's Cheerleading Nationals. They want you at that school. They're willing to offer a full scholarship to you, provided you join the choir." The shock from the news paralyzed him. I took his hand. "I talked to your mom and dad. They want what's best for you, just like I do. I can't stand to see you suffering here. I want what's best for you, even if that means removing me from the picture."

At that he shook his head, waking from the trance I out him under. "Wh-What do you mean 'remove me from the picture'?"

I sighed. "You need someone who will be open with you. Someone to love you every second of everyday. Someone who isn't afraid of what others say. You can find sanctuary at Dalton, and you can find this love with Blaine. I see the way you look at him. It's the way you used to look at me before this whole mess spilled out." Tears began to trickle down his cheeks. I put my hands on his cheek and tried to hold back my own tears. "I love you. I love you very, very much, but I'm just not ready be what you need right now. I know this must be hard, I know you'll want to resist, but just for now, please be open to this. We both need time to sort out who we are. You can do that with Blaine and at Dalton. I need time to figure out who I am and if I'm ready to handle all this. Just promise me that you'll go through with this. Promise me that you'll try to move on with this. Promise me…"

Our foreheads met, and our eyes closed. I drank in what would be our last moment together. I took in his breath, his smell, his essence, knowing that after that moment that he would not be mine and I would not be his. As we looked into each other's eyes, we kissed one final time before he looked at me and nodded in agreement.

* * *

I kept to myself, looking at the floor, not even bothering to cover up my distress. Mercedes and Tina noticed how downcast I was, but before they could inquire why, Kurt walked in.

"Oh Kurt!" Mr. Schue looked excited. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about a solo for sectionals."

"Before you do, I have something to say. I wanted to thank you all for what you did at my parent's wedding. It really means a lot to me to know that I've grown to have such good friends here, which is why it's so hard for me to tell you that I'm leaving."

Everybody's attention sharpened. They all looked shocked and confused.

"I'm transferring to Dalton Academy."

Finn stood up. "What the hell, dude? You could've talked to me first!"

"I'm sorry, but it's something I have to do.

It took a second for the news to set in.

Tina finally said something. "Kurt, you can't just leave."

"I'm sorry. I just don't feel safe here anymore."

"We can protect you." Sam looked over, genuinely concerned.

"We can form like a secret service or something."

"Yeah!"

Mercedes stood up, not saying a word, and hugged him with such an intense feeling of comfort and understanding.

Rachel looked at me. "Aren't you going to say anything? You're boyfriend is leaving!"

I just continued to look down. Kurt broke Mercedes hug, thankful that she understood.

"I'm sorry but I have to go."

He turned, tears in his eyes as he went to the door. He stopped at the doorway and turned back one last time. He turned his head and looked straight at me. "I'm really going to miss all of you."

And then he was gone.

* * *

_I'll try to write more soon. Busy weekend coming up. Tell me what you think... BUT PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I SWEAR IT GETS BETTER!_


	13. Always be My Baby

_Ever since I saw New Directions' performance at Sectionals, I wanted to re-write it. I mean, I love Time of my Life, just not when Dianna and Chord do it. So yeah, naturally I thought of this. I don't think I did this chapter justice, but oh well, I'm content with it._

_Disclaimer: I do not own glee or any song used in this fiction._

* * *

After Kurt left, a domino effect of drama occurred in New Directions. Rachel found out about Finn losing his virginity to Santana. Tina and Brittany started fighting over Artie. Mercedes was getting worked up about getting a solo this year, seeing as her solo last year was stolen from her, literally. Puck enlisted Lauren Zizes as our 12th member, and his crush on her is really rubbing Santana the wrong way. And of course, I broke up with my boyfriend and threw him into the arms of some other man even though I was still madly in love with him. Quinn and Sam were probably the only ones not staring in a soap opera (this week), but this year still couldn't hold a candle to last year's Sectional drama.

Still, the New Directions were back in a slump. Mr. Schuster was doing his best to keep our morale up, though. His peppiness, though, was seriously starting to get annoying. I mean, he's right, we shouldn't let all this drama get in the way of our performance, but, you know, we're all still teenagers, teenagers who yell pretty loud by the way.

Case in point: rehearsal. Mr. Schue was a genius for picking _Dog Days Are Over_ by Florence + The Machine and for putting Tina and Mercedes as the leads, but we really weren't in the right emotional stage for that song at the moment. We'd start off just fine with the main girls belting it out and everyone else dancing a lyrical dance (fabulously choreographed by Brittany and me if I do say so myself), but then a shouting match would erupt near the end, and, well, let's just say that it's a good thing there were no sharp objects within reach in the choir room.

After Mr. Schuester somehow rose to quail the fighting, at least for today, he stopped me on my way out the door.

"Mike, can I talk to you for a second?" He gestured for me to sit on the piano bench as he stood next the piano.

"If this is about the choreography, I'm sorry, but I just don't have much to work with-"

He raised his hands in protest. "No, no, I just wanted to see how you were holding up with all this. Sectionals… Football… Kurt leaving…"

I sat up, realizing what Mr. Schue was getting at. "Oh, yeah, that…" He looked at me, expecting me to continue, so I sighed and humored him a bit. "I'm doing okay. I mean, I was the one who convinced him to go, remember? We both needed our time to sort things out."

"And are you doing that?"

I started nodding before he looked at me skeptically. "Yeah, I mean, I'm working through it." Cue more intense skeptical look. "Really, I'm starting to come to terms with stuff."

He stared at me for a little while longer before deciding that he won't get anything else out of me, which was great because I was seriously about to cave. "Alright, well if you're fine, then I have a proposition for you concerning our Ballad this year…"

* * *

I was on my way through the parking lot when I heard a familiar voice ring from the back doors of the auditorium. Much to my surprise, it was Kurt. He was wearing a navy blazer with a red and navy tie, presumably his Dalton Academy uniform. We ran up to each other and met at a bench.

"Hey dude, when'd your train get in from Hogwarts?"

He lightly punched my arm. "Oh, you know, just a couple of minutes ago. I had to see a girl about a solo real quick." There was a pause. I know I should be used to so much awkwardness, having to deal with it every day since last year, but awkward silences always just shot my nerves.

"So how's everything with you?" I finally asked.

He smiled. "Good. Very good actually. You were right about Dalton by the way. It's an amazing school. Classes are harder, but I can get by."

"How's Blaine?"

A slight look of surprise flashed across his face, but it faded. "He's good. We've been on a couple coffee dates. He's a good guy."

I looked down. I wanted to talk to him about us, you know, where we were, why we were taking this time away from each other, why I was doing all of this, but, I dunno, I just couldn't. "You ducked out at the right time. New Directions is exploding with drama."

"I heard, and while I am grateful that I missed out on the drama, I kinda miss my old family."

I was about to delve further into the sadness of his voice, but a honk interrupted my train of thought. Blaine waved from a red Nissan Versa.

"I have to go… emergency Warbler's solo audition…" Kurt stood up and took three steps before turning his head. "It was nice seeing you again, Mike."

I simply waved as he got into the car and disappeared. It's amazing how in a few short weeks, our relationship could change from sharing everything to each other to awkward silences and secrets, but I had myself to blame for that. I sat there, alone, starting to reevaluate the validity of my decision. Was it really for the best? I dunno.

Why was life so complicated?

* * *

I sat outside the green room, my face buried in my hands. I can't believe that our team had sunken so low. I could still hear the distinct murmurings of the arguments inside. This really wasn't doing me any favors, especially considering what Mr. Schue asked me to do. Leading the Ballad for Sectionals, that's pretty major, especially considering the subject matter and a certain person in the audience. I know why Mr. Schue asked me to do it; I mean, he seemed to understand what was going on with me better than I'd want to admit. It's kinda weird to think my Spanish teacher is trying to help me with my ex-boyfriend.

Speaking of which, right as I was shifting my concern from my teammates to the song I was about to sing, Kurt walked up to me.

"Wow, they're really going at it."

I rolled my eyes. "You have no idea. You were great by the way. Definitely would have preferred you to have a solo, but, you know, you guys still killed it."

Kurt blushed. "Thanks. Hope you do well yourself, especially considering…" He looked towards the door as we heard a crash. He got me up and turned the knob to enter the room, and there everybody was, in an incoherent screaming match with each other. Kurt looked so mortified that you'd think he'd walked in on a murder or something.

"HEY!" He screamed so loud, instantly silencing the room and catching their attention. "What is wrong with all of you? Look at yourselves! It's pitiful. I can't believe you're going to let some stupid drama destroy what we worked so hard last year to keep!" He looked everyone straight in the eye with such intimidating outraged that everyone already started to feel disgrace. "We walked through hell last year just to keep this club alive both at Regionals and Sectionals, and now you're just going to let it die again? You realize that if you guys don't place today, Figgins will probably shut down the program, right?" He paused, as if waiting for a legitimate answer. At the look at everyone's shame, he sighed and calmed down, "Look, I may have left, but I still feel like a part of this family. You guys owe it to yourselves to put all this behind you and see the bigger picture. Remind yourselves why you love performing on that stage. Remind yourselves why you love each other so much. Please, because I don't want to win this thing unless I know you guys are playing at your best." He looked around, made eye contact with each and every one of us, and smiled. "Break a leg out there, and know that I'm rooting for you guys."

He turned on his heel and left, leaving us all with something to think about. I just stood there, in awe of Kurt's speech which only added to the confliction of whether or not I made the right decision to drive him away and not come out of the closet. I suppose I should have thanked him; he reminded me of why I loved him and why I agreed to sing this song. I looked around at the others as they meekly apologized, realizing Kurt was right, compared to last year, this was nothing. The mood lifted back to a bright and happy place, which was good since we were performing a group number that essentially called for complete and unbridled happiness. With Kurt's blessing, New Directions put their troubles aside and tried to reconcile what could have been a disaster. Kurt brought us back to our happy place. The rest was up to us.

…

I stood behind the curtain, breathing slowly as I waited for my cue. I was ready. My first full solo in competition, and I was surprisingly chill. Maybe it was because after long thought, I realized that this was really how I felt about Kurt, but right as I started to think about it more, the announcer started the music, and, well, it was time.

I burst through the curtains and my eyes went straight to Kurt.

"_We were as one babe_

_For a moment in time_

_And it seemed everlasting_

_That you would always be mine"_

Kurt recognized the David Cook version of the Mariah Carey song instantly, and a smile shot across his face. Mr. Schue was sitting right behind him, also with a smile, signaling his content with his role in our 'matchmaking'. I just continued to stride forward, not releasing Kurt from my gaze, and kept singing.

"_Now you want to be free_

_So I'm letting you fly_

_Cause I know in my heart babe_

_Our love will never die_

_No!"_

I stopped there in front of Kurt and prepared to sing the next part to him like we were the only ones in the room.

"_You'll always be a part of me_

_I'm a part of you indefinitely_

_Girl don't you know you can't escape me_

_Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby_

_And we'll linger on_

_Time can't erase a feeling this strong_

_No way you're never gonna shake me_

_Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby"_

Tears of joy started forming in his eyes. His hands were clasping over his mouth that I was sure still in the form of a smile. I knew he was getting the message, and I smiled and simply put more confidence into what I was singing.

"_I ain't gonna cry no_

_And I won't beg you to stay_

_If you're determined to leave girl_

_I will not stand in your way_

_But inevitably you'll be back again_

_Cause ya know in your heart babe_

_Our love will never end _

_No!"_

At that the curtain rose, and the entire New Directions joined in the chorus. I walked backwards, still keeping my eye contact with Kurt. I made it to the stage and sang the bridge more passionately than I'd ever sang before.

"_I know that you'll be back girl_

_When your days and your nights get a little bit colder oooohhh_

_I know that, you'll be right back, babe_

_Oh! baby believe me it's only a matter of time"_

I sang the chorus one more time by myself before the rest of the group joined in again when the chorus repeated again. As everyone else joined in, swaying in the background, I could see the smiles on their faces. I'd like to say that my performance lifted our spirits, but I knew it had more to do with Kurt.

At any rate, as the song ended. I bowed. "Ladies and gentlemen, the New Directions!"

The crowd rose to their feet in applause as I took my place behind Tina and Mercedes. As the delicate strings started to strum in background, my smile just grew wider. Tina and Mercedes wove together their voices as we clapped in the background. As the chorus started we danced with turns, lifts, and leaps so elegant and simple that it felt just so liberating to perform. As the song played out, we embraced the primal yet amazingly euphoric happiness that seemed to take over us. The music swelled, as did our voices, and in the last moments of the song, as our voices melded into one, I knew our family was back together. As we took our final bows to the crowd, with absolutely everybody standing on their feet in cheer, I looked at Kurt who just clapped and smiled at me just like he used to. All I could do was smile back.

* * *

"That was amazing."

I turned to see Kurt standing there, ninja like as always, with a glowing aura.

I smiled. "Thanks."

He slowly approached me. He had an understanding look in his eyes, which were wet with tears. "I understand why you essentially pushed me out the door. I do get that you want to protect me while you figure things out with your parents. Believe me, I know." He looked down, a frown coming across his face. "But why was it so easy for you to push me into someone else's arms?" He looked at me, expecting a reaction, but I just stood there, hiding my reaction of nervousness.

"You-you set me up with Blaine, told him to 'help' me, knowing that I had a crush on him…" He started to break down more and more. I stepped in and held him close. "W-Why? Why did you open yourself up to me and just throw me away?"

I took a deep breath as I felt his tears on my chest. "I told you, you need someone who loves you openly no matter what, and while I can't be that for you now, I know I may be that person someday. Until then, I'm letting you free, and like I said in that auditorium today, if and when you come back again, I'll be ready for you."

He slowly broke the hold and looked me straight in the eye. "And if I fall for Blaine instead?"

My heart sank a little, but I smirked. "Then I'll fight to win you back. And if he still wins, then at least I know your heart's with someone loyal and good and worth every ounce of love you can give." I took his hand and kissed it. "I just want you to be happy. I know that sounds cliché, and it would break my heart to see you with someone else, but at least it would be for the best."

He closed his eyes and smiled contently. He leaned up on his toes and placed his hands on the back of my neck to lay a gentle kiss on my lips. It sent shockwaves through my system, forcing my eyes closed to drink in the sensation for a couple of seconds. Then I felt the touch of his hands and his lips fade, and when I opened my eyes, he was gone. I sighed at the thought of the phantom, my phantom angel who saw us through a challenging day. I knew the day would come when he'd be mine. Someday, someday soon, hopefully, I will find that courage to do what needs to be done. Someday. But today, I was on top of the world.

Little did I know, someone was watching. Someone with ill content. Someone, who with a single selfish action, would change my world forever.

* * *

_Get ready for some drama. I have something big planned. Well, at least in my opinion._


	14. Nobody's Home

_I know this chapter's kind of like every fanfic where this kind of thing happens to Mike, but why fix what's not broken, right? I kinda felt like this had to happen, but it's one of those love/hate writings though, if that makes sense. I feel like these chapters are getting shorter and shorter though. Well, hopefully this is a good chapter. This is more detail than I'm used to._

_Disclaimer: I don't own glee. _

* * *

After our (technical) win at Sectionals, I was over the moon, as was the rest of New Directions. Everyone worked things out. Tina got back together with Artie because Brittany and Santana decided to try out a serious relationship together, which was surprisingly working out better than all of both of their relationships combined. Quinn and Sam broke up, but they got back together. Oh Ken and Barbie… Rachel and Finn did the same, though it took them a while because they're both as stubborn as mules. Puck was attempting to court Lauren, which was working… I think… I don't know… they're weird… All in all, we were out of our funk. The dog days really were over, well, for now at least.

The other members of New Directions could tell that I was happier, and they were all happy that I was happy, especially after Kurt and I officially kinda broke up and I ultra pushed him into Blaine's arms. They apparently had started dating seriously for a couple weeks now, and having those few weeks to process it, I was genuinely okay with it… or at least okay as I'll ever be. I mean, nightmares of those two together still wake me up at night, screaming with sweat dripping down my chest, but hey, c'est la vie.

At any rate, I was especially happy because soccer season was coming up, which meant we could start preparing early for the season. For a couple of days now, me and the other soccer guys got together to work on our drills and to fill in the freshmen on all our trick plays and what not. Showing off my bicycle kick while 10 feet in the air was also an added bonus. It never ceases to drop some jaws and turn some heads. But what really got me pumped was the fact that this year, everyone was committed to actually going all the way this year. We were good; we just needed to hone our skills together. All in all, it looked to be an exciting year.

That is, until the Westvale High soccer team stepped on our field.

It wasn't bad enough that their glee club, Aural Intensity, was up against us at Regionals, again, but now their soccer team was giving us heat? Dude, WTF?

Daryl Flynn, their mullet-headed captain, stepped forward. "Sup losers! Practicing how to lose?"

Seeing as all I was default captain, I stepped forward and rolled my eyes. "What do you want, Flynn?"

He looked over to me, not seeing me at first, and instantly started smirking. "Oh look, it's the Gasian from the Glee Club!"

While their team laughed, I just rolled my eyes and yawned. "Can we wrap this up? We need to practice. you know, it's what good teams do to stay good, not like those rich losers who sit at home and let other people write their playbooks for them." The Westvale High students were notorious for their spoiled rotten rich payoff antics.

He smirked. "Hey we got the cash, might as well use it."

"Yeah, just like last year when you paid off that guy to get a picture of our last captain drunk at a party."

He shrugged. "We thought it would be funny. You know, a joke amongst friends?"

I stood there, outraged. "He lost his soccer scholarship! It was a full ride!"

He shrugged again. "Some people can't take a joke." His smug grin made me want to knock his lights out.

"Yeah, well you better keep the jokes to a minimum this year."

"Or what? You'll beat us down? Fat chance." Before I could respond, they turned and walked off. "Oh and by the way," he said while leaving, "You were great at Sectionals. Picture perfect performance."

That last comment kinda irked me, but I shrugged it off, and we continued practicing. After our endorphins and adrenaline started pumping, the mood lifted. After practice, the guys wanted to go out for pizza, but there was a glee celebratory party going on at Rachel's house, so I decided to make my way home to change and shower for a bit.

Bad choice.

I came through the front door after a long walk home from school and heard a cough and a grunt come from behind me. My mom was sitting at the dining room table, the blinds open just barely and the lights off. My dad stood at the window, looking out at the yard absent-mindedly. There was a manila folder on the table. By the look on my mom's face, things weren't good. It wasn't a scowl, but I could see hurt, heartbreak, and tears in her eyes. I slowly put down my bag and walked over to the table.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

My mom continued to just stare at the folder, her arms folded neatly in front of her. Taking this as a hint to look at its contents, I picked it up and opened the cover.

And my jaw just dropped.

There was an extremely high resolution picture of me and Kurt, from Sectionals, kissing gently in a well lit backstage spotlight. The picture had zoomed in on our faces so that it was clearly showing my face and Kurt's.

My mind just went blank. My knees caved, so I slowly drew out the closest chair and sat down. My mom just kept staring at the spot where the folder used to be. My dad closed his eyes, presumably wishing that this wasn't happening right now. At that moment, I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe that this was happening. My heart felt like it was literally being pulled in two directions at the same time, and the tear down the middle was aching in my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even fathom what was going through their heads right now. Hoping to reconcile, I opened my mouth in a feeble attempt to defend myself.

"Mom, Dad, I-I-I'm sorry-"

SMACK

My mom slapped me straight across the face. After she did so, her hands covered her face as she went into hysterical tears. Her sobs grew louder and louder, and with the hardwood floors, her sobs echoed louder and louder in my ears like an earsplitting banshee cry.

I was in a state of shock. I hadn't seen her like this since her father, my grandfather, died. Did she really equate me being gay to the death of a family member?

My dad turned to me, eyebrows furrowed in anger and fists clenched tight enough to rupture his skin. His face was so red that it appeared that his blood vessels would burst. He walked slowly towards me, and as I closed my eyes, I braced myself for the oncoming beating. Instead I felt him drag me from the dining room, up the stairs, and into my room. I noticed as he dragged me that all the family pictures we had hanging on the walls of every room where smashed and seemed to have been stabbed by a sharp object and torn. Glass littered the floor as I saw other pieces of furniture with torn upholstery and holes. Those images just made the forces pulling my heart in two pull even harder. He kicked open the door and threw me inside. He tossed a couple of gym bags at my feet.

"This is no longer your home, and we are no longer your family." He spoke these words so calmly and coldly that it truly frightened me to see the figure in front of me. My father had barely shone emotion before, but something about him now just made me tremble in pure terror. I didn't even recognize the man in front of me, but as I looked into his eyes for the last time, I saw a sadness and pain that told me that he felt the same when looking at as well. "You have thirty minutes to pack up whatever you think you need before I forcibly remove you from this house as a trespasser or thief." And with that, he slammed the door and left me in my room… my _former_ room… to cry my eyes out.

* * *

I stood outside Rachel's house listening to the pounding music resonate through the front door. I just sat on the front porch with all my packed belongings and wallowed in the greatest hurt and depression that I've ever felt in my entire life. My cheeks were soaked with countless tears that have been falling for countless hours by now. After I left my _former_ house, I wandered the streets of Lima with fifty-sixty pounds of weight on my arms and shoulders, searching for some refuge. The aching of my muscles distracted me a little from the pain in my heart, but nothing could compare to how much the aching in my entire chest made me want to scream my lungs out and just writhe on the floor in agony. I had arrived at the Berry household just 10 minutes earlier and had been sitting there contemplating a multitude of things, most of which was: What was I going to do?

I couldn't even process an answer to that question without the image of me under a freeway overpass with rags for clothes and stolen blanket for warmth. I wanted relief, but I couldn't even bring myself to face any of my friends. No doubt that they would take me in and try to comfort me, but all the pity and condolence they would undoubtedly offer would just make me feel worse. All I wanted to do was turn back time and go home, to my mom and dad, and just hug them and tell them everything. Maybe if I had told them, things would have been different. Instead here I am, on the porch of a party, wallowing in sorrow. I couldn't stand it.

I just wanted to go home.

My pocket started buzzing. I pulled it out and looked at the message: _Where r u? You're missing Just Dance!_

I took this as a signed to get up and to try to pick up the pieces of my life. I swallowed deeply and rang the front door. I heard running and jumped at the sight of Rachel sipping a Capri Sun and laughing with her head turned back.

"Yeah, yeah… hey, it's about time, Mike-" She stopped at the sight of my entire room being lugged around on my back. The tears in my eyes caught her eyes immediately. The Capri Sun fell from her hand as she instantly ran up and gave me a hug. I dropped most of my stuff, but I really needed a hug, even if it was from Rachel. She broke the hug and looked me in the eyes, eyes that were full of sympathy and compassion. Having two gay dads, Rachel's probably heard it all. She took me by the hand and led me in. We turned the corner into the living room where the girls were gossiping over some cake in the kitchen and the guys were playing Just Dance on Rachel's Wii. As I made my way across the room to put my stuff down, everyone's attention turned to me. The music from the game stopped, and everyone probably pieced together what happened based on my tears and my multitude of belongings taking up space in the Berry living room.

In the next second, I received a group hug so large that I couldn't tell who was who. It lasted for a couple minutes before I was released and could get a good look at everyone. The whole New Directions was here: Tina, Mercedes, Quinn, Lauren, everybody. Kurt and Blaine were here too, and their faces of sadness and sympathy were probably the most intense, and that was saying something since everyone looked like they knew what I was going through.

The specifics of the next few hours were a blur, but I remember feeling... safe. Everyone was supportive. I pigged out on multiple pieces of cake and ice cream scoops the size of softballs. I probably gained like 20 pounds from that night alone. At any rate, I never felt so loved by a group of people. I had forgotten just how family-like we've become, but I was reminded of that clearly.

By the end of the night, arrangements had been made. Finn and Kurt got a bigger house when their parents got married, so they had the most room so far. It didn't matter if we would feel any awkwardness about living with an ex; we were going to worry about that later. I was just so glad that I had so many people who had my back on this.

The gang tried to cheer me up with more dancing, but I was still too depressed to dance, which, considering how much I loved dancing, was saying something. I ended up falling sleep and through some sleepwalking methods make it to the Hummel-Hudson household. Finn had called Carole and Burt earlier, and they welcomed me with open arms. Burt patted me on the back as Carole hugged me tightly, making me miss my parents and wish that they were like this. Not much happened after that, other than everyone telling me that things will get better. I thanked everyone for the millionth time before going to bed and hoping that I'd wake up the next morning and find that everything was a dream.

It wasn't.

* * *

When Burt dropped me and Finn off at school, I got more stares that I had in my entire life. Before I could wonder why, I found out within 5 seconds of walking through the school doors. On every wall, there was a poster of the exact picture of Kurt and me kissing that my parents had. Millions of copies littered the floor. Janitors and administrators where trying their best to clean them up, but there were simply too many. I was mortified.

Before I could react, Figgins came on the loudspeaker and called me to his office. I looked to Finn, who looked pissed, and started walking. People were whispering and giggling, and I just couldn't stand it. Seeing the discomfort on my face, he whispered to me, "Just don't worry about it. Everything's going to be fine." Psh, how would he know?

Before I could voice that question, I got a slushy facial from behind with a simultaneous punch from the side, sending me into the lockers. Azimio and Karofsky had given me the old one-two, and my biggest insecurities were realized. Finn was about to go off on them before Mr. Schuester and Coach Beiste stepped in, Coach Beiste escorting the boys to some far off region (good riddance) for punishment and Mr. Schue escorting me gently to Principal Figgins office.

When we got there, they told me that Daryl Flynn, in the spirit of 'pranking' the opposing team's captain, had released that photo to my parents and around the school. The school board is awaiting further punishment, as this is the latest in his long record of over the top bullying.

They asked me how I was, and I informed the two that I was now living with Finn and his parents, how my parents disowned me, and how I was that I was now 17 and scared out of my mind.

Mr. Schue just patted me on the back and told me that we were going to fix this and get justice. I told him that I didn't want justice. I just wanted my life back.

* * *

I laid there on my guest bed after school. Tears still streaming down my face, I cried loudly. I wanted to disappear. I wanted it all to stop. I wanted freedom. But freedom, from this life, from this torment, from this reality, would never come. This was my world now, and I had to figure out how to deal with it. Right now though, I felt like my mother was right. Mike Chang is dead. He's just a shell of what he used to be. A shell that wished to be whole again.

Just as that thought came through my head, Kurt came in through the door. His blazer was missing, and his sleeves were pushed up. I was facing away from the door and towards the light coming in from the window, but I could still see him in my mind's eye very clearly. Without hesitation, he laid behind me and wrapped his arms around torso. He engulfed me in his warmth, his essence, his aura, his everything, and it made me feel whole again. I wanted to look him in the eye, but I couldn't find the strength, but for the next few hours we just laid there, me crying my eyes out and Kurt burying his nose in my neck, trying to kiss away the pain. I wanted to lay there forever and just let him do it, just take all my pain and comfort me forever. But eventually I'd have to face reality and face the world, just like everybody else.

But just for that moment, I was in the arms of the man I loved.

And that's all that mattered.

* * *

_This chapter was inspired by so many things. The last scene is kinda like the scene from the Charmed episode 'Long Live the Queen' where the Charmed Ones kill Cole as The Source for the first time and they're all crying on Phoebe's bed. The entire chapter was inspired by Avril Lavigne song 'Nobody's Home'... if it wasn't obvious... yeah..._

_I'm kinda stuck as to where to go from here. I've got an idea, but I'm just a victim of Writer's Block... Any suggestions, no matter how crazy, would be appreciated... _


	15. Pieces

_Thank you so much for the feedback, especially Shadowstar556, GleeFangurl721, and Number1KurtHummelFan for helping me out with my writer's block. Although this chapter serves as sort of a buffer for the next few chapters, I feel this chapter was necessary, yet it kinda feels boring to me for some reason. I dunno, I'll let you be the judge._

_Disclaimer: I don't own glee. _

* * *

I had a dream about my parents that night. I saw them in California, sitting on my Aunt and Uncle's couch. My mom was holding a picture of me clutched to her chest, crying still as if I were dead. My dad just stared silently with the same look of sadness and hurt in his eyes. My Aunt and Uncle were there, and though I couldn't exactly make out what they were saying, somehow it all made sense. As they moved their mouths I could feel my parents' veil of sadness lifting, opening up so that they could be receptive to what they were saying, what they needed to hear. This could just be my optimism talking, but it looked as if seeds of regret were starting to show.

As the dream started to fade, my eyes fluttered open to the brightness of the sun starting to shine through the window. I sat up on bed and rubbed my eyes. I looked to my side and found the bed empty. I could have sworn that Kurt was here, but he must have gone to school already. I looked at the clock for confirmation. 6:41. Yep, he was definitely gone. Westerville was a long drive from here, so he had to leave early.

My perception of reality took a minute to come to focus, but it got there eventually. I felt significantly better after my intense depression binge yesterday. Letting everything out in one intense moment usually left me feeling better yet exhausted. One can't release all that pent up emotion without receiving a little backlash.

I rolled out of bed and rummaged through my bags to find some clean clothes and slipped them on before quickly brushing my teeth in the guest bathroom and making my way downstairs for breakfast. Burt and Carole were sitting there with Finn, talking absent-mindedly before noticing my steps and greeting me with a genuine smile.

"Good morning, Mike."

"Good morning, Mrs. Hudson-Mrs. Hummel… um…"

The three of them laughed. "Mrs. Hummel is fine, dear." She answered with such a genuine happiness. She took Burt's hand and he raised it to his mouth and kissed it. All this kinda caught me off guard. I mean, my mom and dad definitely never showed this kind of affection to each other, let alone talked to me with such emotion. "Did you sleep well, dear?"

I rubbed my eyes in exhaustion. "Um, yeah, I did. Thank you so much for letting me stay here, by the way."

"Oh don't mention it, son!" Burt blurted out. Since his stroke, he's gotten a lot better. He still kinda walks with a limp, but otherwise, he's really improved. "You can stay as long as you like. Don't worry about it."

I smiled as I nibbled on some bacon and eggs. Kurt and Finn were lucky. If the term 'ideal parents' made its way into the dictionary, their picture would be posted right next to it. They were just so understanding and welcoming. They didn't pry about what exactly happened, and they made such easy conversation that it felt like I was talking to people I've known my whole life. I just really like them.

We made our way to school again, much to my displeasure, but Finn made the car ride easy as well. He rambled on and on like he always does, a quality that I always loved about our fearless leader, and I completely forgot about what I had to face in the coming hours. But after spending so much time with the Hummel's, and Finn, I felt even better.

People still glanced over and started laughing as they saw me, probably whispering jokes under their breath to each other. After the shock of yesterday, I kinda just blew past it and went back to ignoring all that like I've always done. But really, I was expecting, I dunno, more. There weren't any locker shoves, slushies, dumpster dives, or anything.

At least, that's how the first half of the day went.

Right before soccer practice, as I walked towards the locker room, the dynamic duo of Azimio and Karofsky were waiting with most of the other football guys. They weren't holding slushies. No, far worse. They had paint guns.

"I suppose you knew you had this coming, fag!"

They took this as their cue to open fire, hitting me everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE… and you can be sure that they focused on places that they were sure would hurt. As I writhed on the floor in a fetal position, protecting my sensitive areas, they reloaded and kept firing again. As they ran out of ammo this time, they took out some balloons, filled with… well… liquids too harsh to mention, and attempted to open fire yet again.

But before they could throw the balloons, I heard a yell and shuffling of feet. I looked up from the ground and saw my soccer teammates taking the pee balloons and throwing them at the football guys who were running for the hills.

Kevin Johnson, the senior who practically begged me to be captain this year because he wasn't up to it, stuck his hand out and picked me up. "You okay, man?"

I nodded, kinda surprised at what they did. "Yeah… why did you…"

He smiled. "Dude, we elected you captain for a reason. You're the best. You constantly show it on the field. What kind of teammates would we be if we just abandoned you when some asshole out you to the entire school?"

I stood there in shock. I looked at all the other guys, and they all smiled and nodded at me too. It astounded me that the two sports teams that I was on were so different. "I-I don't know what to say…"

"Don't mention it. I mean, it's the least we could do after you basically whipped all of us into shape. Now wipe that sappy look of your face and get changed. We're playing Westvale this Saturday, and, well, I'm guessing you have a score to settle with Flynn."

I looked at him with a disgruntled face. "They're still letting that douche play?"

"Yeah, well, you know Westvale, paying off whoever they can to stay in good graces. Makes me sick." He took the words right out of my mouth. "So what do you say, you wanna do some drills?" He held out his hand. I smiled as I took it and pulled him in to a bro hug.

"C'mon! Let's get ready to kick some ass!"

* * *

Safe to say that Daryl Flynn and the rest of the Westvale soccer team were surprised to see me in such good shape, but if they thought that the likes of him could break me, then they were sorely mistaken. At any rate, we owned them: 6 to 1. And they only had one goal because our goalie was fixing his contacts when the other team made the shot. As we celebrated with a group huddle, I could see Flynn eyeing me with an intense glare of hatred, and when I say intense, I mean INTENSE….

Something told me that I wasn't seeing the last of him at this game, but, you know, I was celebrating. Things were slowly getting better I guess.

On Monday, the football guys still gave me death glares. Some of them were holding slushies, but they never got around to throwing them because either my glee mates or my team mates were there to back me up. It made me feel better, even though people, random people who I barely knew, were still looking at me like I had betrayed them in some way.

The thing that hurt the most, though, was when I thought about Kurt. I stayed in the closet because of fear, but here I am, out, though not of my own free will, but managing and with friends who were backing me up. It made me kick myself for thinking that I couldn't handle it. Maybe if this happened a little earlier or I had gained more courage earlier, I wouldn't have had to push Kurt to Dalton so hard. I mean, whether I liked it or not, I was out and having to deal with it. I just really missed having him by my side, because Lord knows he would have helped me through it. Now he was with Blaine, and all I could do was sit by and watch.

Throughout the day, though, I got a lot of pep talks from everybody in New Directions and most of my teachers at some point. I mean Quinn was kicked out of her house last year, so she knows how I feel. Rachel told me the horror stories her dads told her about how they had to come out to their families. Even Coach Sylvester called me in to talk to me at one point. Kurt told me how she looked out for him when he was here, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when she told me she'd do the same for me. Course, it was Coach Sylvester, so it was still awkward.

I even got a call from Matt that day. We've been keeping in touch since he left, though mostly he'd ramble on about missing the glee club and I'd purposely make him feel awkward by going into excruciating details about me and Kurt (you know, when we were still together). At least he was getting by at his new school. He already had a girlfriend, to whom he's serenaded countless times. Figures he'd fall for a girl who was a sucker for musicians.

So I manage to survive the day without a slushy, paint ball onslaught, pee balloon stoning, or any other public display of ridicule, just, you know, stares and rumors and such. I'd hate to jump the gun, but I've got to say, coming out really wasn't all that bad, well school-wise. I still was stumped on how to reconcile with my parents. But the thought that things were getting easier started at the beginning of the day, and now, it was a giant green monster rampaging and screaming, "You idiot! Now go to Kurt and grovel to get him back!"

Hyperboles aside, seeing as nothing was really holding _me_ back, maybe I should talk to Kurt. There were just two problems:

1 – What the heck do I say? I mean, we may live in the same house now, but that doesn't make things any less awkward. –Man, if I had a nickel for every time I used the word awkward to describe myself, I'd be rich! – But seriously, I couldn't just go up to him and say, "You're gay, I'm out, let's kiss!" I mean, there has got to way to approach this.

And even if I did find the right words to say, there's another problem:

2 – Blaine. I've seen the two of them together. Blaine was always a real gentleman, making Kurt laugh and giggle, and Kurt always responded in ways that just screamed, "I love you!" Ranging from gently resting his head on his shoulder to the meaningful stares that he gave him, these signs were obvious. I should know; I relished the moments that he did these things to me. And now, because of me, they were inseparable.

I suppose, then, I really can't complain. I mean, when you literally push your lover into someone else's arms, you really can't blame anyone but yourself. I could still win him back, though, right? Would it make me a horrible person if I did?

That question was put on hold as the sight of Blaine and Kurt laughing in the living room greeted me and Finn as we came through the front door of the Hummel-Hudson household. I know I'm stealing this from one of the Harry Potter books, when he starts getting jealous of all the boys being all over Ginny, but that giant green monster inside of me started rampaging again. Seriously, every time I saw Blaine and Kurt together, they were always the epitome of a perfect couple. It's like they both stepped out of a 50's musical or something. It made me sick.

I did my best to hide these emotions as Blaine instantly put on a serious face. "Hey Mike, how you holding up?"

I sat down and started nibbling on the chips they had out on the coffee table. "Pretty good, all things considered."

He nodded with his usual 'I'm-the-most-understanding-guy' face that made everyone else look like bad. "Any words on your parents yet?"

I sighed. "Apparently Mr. Schue stopped by my house to talk to them on multiple occasions, but no one's been home. I suspect they're hiding out in California, trying to figure things out."

"And school?"

"Eh, most people are still kinda alienating me. The football guys are being jerks, but everyone in New Directions has got my back. Heck, even my soccer buddies are standing by me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, well last year I did help them get to the Playoffs, and I've helped most of them with their drills and trick plays and stuff, so… you know…"

I lost my train of thought when I looked into Kurt's eyes. He had been sitting there silently, nodding occasionally in response to what I was saying. Finn, who was shockingly getting better at sensing people's more subtle emotions (which, frankly, was a miracle), interrupted.

"Blaine, could you, uh, help me in the kitchen, I don't know how to make…" he grabbed the first box he could find. "Cream Brulay…."

Blaine, picking up on what he was trying to do, laughed at Finn's attempt and excused himself.

Making sure the both of them were out of earshot, Kurt spoke up. "So you're really doing okay, Mikey?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I am. I mean, my parents and the jocks still have me on edge, but I'm working through it." I paused, trying to think of something articulate. "Thanks for being there for me by the way. It really means a lot."

He held up his hands in protest. "Oh, don't worry about it. If I were in your shoes, I would even…" He got a little choked up. "Ahem, I'm just… It must be hard. Everyone wasn't surprised when I came out, but with you, it must be… well…"

I nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. "I get it. I don't seem like the type."

He looked at me intensely. "Listen, I know that there's a giant elephant in the room, so I'm just going to come right out and say it." He paused again, taking a deep breath. "I know that the only reason that you broke up with me was because you weren't willing to come out, and now that you're out, you probably want us to get back together…" Another deep breath, "but, I can't. I really like Blaine, and as much as I…" he chose his words carefully, "care… for you, I'm just not willing to break it off just yet. I – I'm sorry…"

I shot him my most convincing sympathetic look. "It's okay. I understand."

Obviously, it wasn't convincing enough. Kurt was about to continue when Blaine came into the room looking extremely frustrated. "I'm sorry, but can one of you help Finn? He can't get the egg beater to work properly."

Kurt rolled his eyes and got up, ranting incoherently as both Blaine and I cringed. Blaine took this opportunity to sit back down and start talking to me again. Great.

"So you're really doing okay?"

That was probably the fiftieth time someone's asked me that, but I tried to hide my annoyance. "Yeah, I'm doing okay."

He nodded. "Good. Good. Well, then I wanted to talk to you about something." He paused, as if waiting for my approval. "I was just wondering about you and Kurt-"

"If you're worried that I'll make a move on him-"

He held up his hands in protest. "Oh no, it's not that… it's just…" He paused. "I just wanted to know if things are going to be awkward between the two of you, I guess."

He looked kinda embarrassed at what he said, like he couldn't think of anything better to say, but I just shook my head. "Nah, I think we're cool. Trust me. Look, I can tell you're kind of feeling guilty for staying with Kurt after this, but remember, I'm the one who told you to go for it. You two shouldn't let my emotional baggage get in the way of your relationship."

I tried to look as honest as I could, but it was hard not to tell him 'Stay away from my man!' No matter how badly I needed Kurt, I realized that I didn't have the right to ask for him. If we ever get back together, it would have to be on his terms, not mine. Frankly, though, I was kicking myself for having to act so mature about this. Why couldn't I be selfish just this once, like every other teenager in America?

Blaine, still with that overly sympathetic look on his face, just kept nodding. "Thanks. I realize this must be hard, seeing the guy you love in someone else's arms." Sure, rub it in why don't you. He got up, gathering his stuff and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I really do think he still has feelings for you."

I tried my best to smile. Though I could see where he's coming from, that just made things worse.

He went into the kitchen and said his goodbyes to the feuding brothers who were getting more and more tangled in extension cords by the second. He gave me a wave and slipped out the door.

As I sat there with the sound of Finn and Kurt in the background bickering like they always did, I leaned back and reflected on my life so far. Though everything wasn't ideal, things were getting better. I was picking up the pieces slowly, but in time, things will get better. I mean, I've already hit rock bottom. The only way to go from here is up…

...

Right?

* * *

_So yeah, I'm sorry. I feel like I could have elaborated on why the soccer team was so supportive, but I couldn't do that without it sounding totally awkward... seriously, I use the word 'awkward' way too much in this story... just know that Mike is really good at soccer and has helped them all out at one point, so they feel like he's their leader or something... I told you it sounded corny/awkward._

_Anywho, thanks for your feedback. Until next time!_


	16. Landslide

_This chapter was the product of a desire to not do an English paper due tomorrow. And I haven't even started. :P I just really wanted to get his down on paper... or screen... you know what I mean!_

_On an totally unrelated note, to anyone who watched Sexy, I'm just so overcome with appreciation for Naya Rivera/Santana. Seriously, her storyline, along with the completely awesome Landslide cover had me on the verge of tears. Just wanted to put that out there. :)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own glee. _

* * *

Apparently, when you hit rock bottom, the ground can still cave in and send you hurdling into the center of the earth where your skin can melt just by touching the mantle and the earth's core. Sorry, that sounds so depressing, but really, at the beginning of this week, that's how I felt things were going. It started off with simple things, you know: stress from SAT prep, AP classes getting us worked up about the looming tests in a couple of months, Regionals in a couple of weeks. Typical teenager stuff.

Then those little things started provoking the giant green monster thing again. Ever since our talk, Blaine's been coming over more and more to steal Kurt away from the house lately. I always thought that he seemed like a well put together kind of guy, but by the way he was clinging to Kurt, he seemed to me like he was becoming one of those insecure, clingy, 'I'm-afraid-of-losing-my-boyfriend' kind of guys. Seriously, every time I entered the room, I swear, he'd start holding Kurt tighter, kissing him harder, and doing other stuff that just seemed over the top. And that's not just the jealousy talking either. I think he's legitimately trying to mark his territory or something.

The constant flaunting of the person that I couldn't have got me so frustrated that my subconscious found the need to give me a certain type of embarrassing dream about a certain someone that left me extremely uncomfortable and in need of new underwear… Please tell me you catch my drift… which led me to be even more frustrated because I had to face the subject of my dream every day, and I can tell you that it is EXTREMELY awkward to face someone after dreaming about them in that way… yeah…

At any rate, I was getting more and more frustrated as time went on, so I put more and more energy into soccer. In preparation for Regionals, all of New Directions were fighting over who's leading the charge and picking our songs. It was kinda scary actually, seeing everybody so worked up… passionate, yet oh so scary. So yeah, I focused more on soccer because the atmosphere was less tense, and kicking the snot out of a ball, which I imagined was instead the heads of Daryl Flynn, Karofsky, and occasionally Blaine, was equally therapeutic.

But you know, I still felt a void in my stomach, but this time, it wasn't from Kurt. I began thinking it was because of my parents. After, you know, _those_ dreams had stopped, I started having flashback dreams to times when I was little, back when my parents actually showed their loving emotions to me. Memories of county fairs and amusement parks and vacations to California littered my subconscious at night, which probably meant one thing: I missed my parents.

Don't get me wrong, Carole and Burt were great. It's just that I wanted my parents to treat me like Carole and Burt treated me, Kurt, and Finn. I realize that this won't happen overnight, but I mean, I missed my parents, and any word from them would have comforted me dearly.

Then, on a random Saturday evening, where Finn was on a date with Rachel, Burt was working in the shop, and Carole had been working at the clinic, Kurt came down stairs to make himself a snack. He walked down the stairs, phone in hand, texting Mercedes about making plans to go shopping. He entered the kitchen, his eyes still glued to his phone, and rummaged in the fridge for some juice and such. When he turned around, he looked up at the island table and saw me sitting there, staring at him. He jumped back, almost spilling my juice, proceeded to yell at me.

"Holy- Mikey, don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Scare me like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, I guess. I've just been thinking lately."

He eyed me suspiciously and asked me, "Is everything okay?"

I just continued staring. "Oh yeah, peachy, or haven't you noticed just how awesome my life has been lately?"

He shifted his weight, resting his hand on his hips, and gave me his 'piercing-dagger' stare, but this time it didn't faze me… At which he looked a little taken aback.

"Are you on drugs or something, or is it that time of the month?"

I shrugged, not wanting to get into it and continued to stare off into space. Before I knew it, he slapped me in the face and yelled, "Hey! Snap out of it!"

I looked at him with a surprised 'WTF?' face. After staring at each other for a couple of seconds, he sighed. "I'm sorry, Mike, I've just… been worried about you…"

I looked back at him and sighed. "I've just been a little on edge. I'm just starting to get more and more worried, you know? What with my parents _still_ being in California. They must be using up all the vacation time they accumulated over the past 17 years or something. I just really want to talk to them."

He raised his eyebrow. "Have you tried calling them?"

"No, but-"

"No buts mister! It's been weeks. They've probably had time to deal with their emotional baggage. Stop being such a panda bear and call them. The worse thing that could happen is that they don't answer or hang up, right?"

I eyed him for the panda bear comment, but he was right. I was being a little silly. Maybe I should call them.

Before I could progress my thoughts any further, I caught sight of the time. "Hey, I've gotta go. Johnson e-mailed me about meeting for a celebratory pizza run with the rest of the soccer guys. I'll catch you later."

I got up and made my way for the door. I stopped before I opened it and turned my head to face him. "Hey Kurt?" He looked up from his phone. "Thanks."

He smirked and just waved me out the door. "Just go and leave me in peace." He stuck out his tongue and made a scrunched up nose face. I silently laughed as I left out the door.

I made my way to our usual Cici's Pizza where the guys and I usually competed to see who could make Cici's run out of Pizza first. I caught sight of a McKinley letterman jacket outside the restaurant and saw the last name 'Johnson' on the back. I ran over to go greet Kevin and ask him where the other guys were.

Then he turned around. It wasn't Kevin.

Daryl Flynn just looked at me with a creepy grin on his face. Just then I felt a little claustrophobic. I looked around and slowly started to recognize the faces of the rest of the Westvale High soccer team.

Daryl walked up to me and whispered, "Follow us, or your dead, fag."

* * *

The pain was like flames licking every corner of flesh in my body. I tried to keep my head up, but something kept smashing against it, sending it from side to side. I tried to move, but my hands were numb, yet I had a burning sensation around my wrist. As my head kept moving around, the dark night mixed with the light coming from above me. The smell of leaves lingered with the smell of blood and flesh. I felt like I was in the middle of a tornado, spinning around like a plastic bag in the breeze, but somehow, I wasn't going anywhere. The sensations of pain and aching continued for what seemed like forever. Then I saw flashing lights. Red and blue glowed in the distance as moving blurs of color shuffled around me. I heard yelling but couldn't distinguish a sound. The chaos just got more and more intense as my hands suddenly came back to me, allowing me to move from my fixed spot, only to collapse on what felt like hard concrete. I felt hands pick me up and put me on something soft, and as the discordant sensations around me blurred together, everything went black.

* * *

A tiny beep woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked around me. The room was spinning. Pastel green walls blended with dim florescent lights and white curtains. I felt dizzy and numb all at the same time. The constant spinning hypnotized me before a voice and a hand came out of nowhere and anchored me back to reality. I turned my head, a sharp pain shooting through my neck and head, and saw a pale figure with chocolate brown hair and red rosy cheeks. Where have I seen this before?

The blur solidified, and I saw Kurt, tears in his eyes, holding my hand and staring at me.

"Hey you, how are you feeling?"

I tried to say something, but my mouth didn't work. I grunted, but even making the slightest noise hurt my throat.

Kurt gently put a finger to my lips. "Shh… I know."

My eyes fluttered open and closed as I tried to catch my bearings. I saw that I was in a hospital room, my arms heavily bruised and flowers overflowing on the table across from my bed.

I looked to Kurt, wanting to ask 'What happened?', and he seemed to have understood.

"You're at Lima General. Apparently Daryl Flynn hacked into Kevin's e-mail to trick you into going out. Kevin called the house, asking for you, and we knew something was up. I called the police and they found you in Lincoln Park getting beat up by the entire Westvale High Soccer Team."

He looked so shaken up while he said this. I tried to lift my hand to my head to massage my temples, but the pain was too great. Kurt gently lowered my arm and started massaging my head right where it hurt. It was if he was reading my mind or something. I looked to him and wondered, 'Am I okay?'

"You have some internal bleeding, a lot of bruising and plenty of cuts and scrapes, heavy swelling and such… but other than that, no broken bones, no dislocations or fractures, nothing serious." He tried to smile through his solemnity. "I guess those Westvale guys really aren't any good at doing anything themselves, let alone beating someone up without hiring someone to do it for them. Bunch of light-weights."

I laughed at the humor, which also hurt, but Kurt rested his hand on my chest and it started to feel better. I swear, Kurt must have been an angel. How else was he able to read my mind and instantaneously take my pain away at the same time?

'How long have I been out?'

"About six-seven hours. They found you at ten o'clock. Right now it's about five in the morning."

I looked at him, guilty from the thought that he stayed with me for that long. 'You need to rest.'

He rested his hand on my heart. "You need me more."

Fire rose in my chest. I could feel a wave of warmth wash over me as I looked into Kurt's blue-green eyes. He smiled with sadness too tender to describe, tears coming out of his eyes. I wanted to communicate all that I was feeling right now: confusion, depression, love… but I apparently didn't need too. With that single touch, we said all that we needed to say. I could feel all my love concentrate to where his hand met my heart and could tell that he could feel it just as intensely as I could. He climbed into my hospital bed, careful not to accidentally lean on anything and hovered over me as we stared at each other face to face. No matter how much it hurt, I raised my hand to his cheek and pulled him close. He didn't resist. He didn't pull back. His lips met mine as our souls intertwined. His touch sent sparks and fireworks through my system. For the next few hours, he slept gently next to me, cuddled in my arms. His weight offered no pain as his touch had banished that sensation from my body long before. We slept there in each other's aura, treasuring each other's presence and met again in our dreams to commune with nothing but happiness and joy filling up our senses.

* * *

I had been released a couple of days later. Kurt was right; the Westvale Soccer team obviously couldn't beat anybody up without hiring someone to do it for them. I was walking normal and everything. Kurt had been at my side whenever he could. I was so grateful for his presence. I had spent so much time missing him that it was driving me crazy. Now that he's back at my side I couldn't get enough.

I woke up around 11 o'clock. I proceeded to go down the stairs when I heard voices coming from the living room.

"Thanks for coming Blaine. I – we really need to talk."

There was a pause. I could feel the awkwardness thickening through the entire room even though I couldn't see the living room from here.

"You are an amazing person, Blaine, and I really, really love you…" I heard Kurt sniffle a little. "…but I'm just not _in_ love with you. Truth is, I'm in love with someone else."

Blaine sighed. "I know."

I could hear the surprise come across Kurt's face. "I've known for a while now. It's why I've been holding on to you so tightly. All those candlelit dinners and secret getaways was my way of trying to keep you close. Keep you with me." He paused, his voice starting to crack up. "I didn't want to lose you." I could sense tears running down his face. I sort of felt sorry for him.

They sat in silence for a bit before Blaine continued. "So what happens now?"

Kurt sighed. "Well, I – I have to finish the year a Dalton- I can't really change schools with just a few months left of the school year- so…"

Blaine smiled. "Well, then, at least we still get to spend a little bit of time together as friends."

At that Blaine got up. "You two are really lucky, you and Mike. Try not to lose each other. What the two of you have is…" It took him a while to find a perfect word, but he finally decided on "special".

Kurt smiled and stood to give him a hug. When they broke the embrace, Blaine yelled out, "You happy, Mike?"

At the sound of my name, I tripped up and fell down the stairs. I looked up and saw Kurt and Blaine rushing towards me. I quickly got up and brushed myself off. "I'm okay. I'm okay. I was just… getting some water… or something… yeah…"

Kurt laughed and put his hand to his face as Blaine just stood there chuckling. He came up to me and held out his hand. "Take care of him, okay?"

I took his hand and shook it. "Always."

With that, Blaine left, leaving me and Kurt alone on the steps. He turned to me and hit me in the arm.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For eaves dropping, you jerk!"

He proceeded to hit me some more as I held up my hands in defense. As I saw an opening, I grabbed him and kissed him square on the lips, pushing him up against the wall. We made out for a good five minutes before realizing Finn was standing behind us on the steps.

"Ahem!"

We both turned to him, shocked at his presence, and felt our cheeks redden up with embarrassment. He just rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around our necks. He dragged us into the kitchen so that we could make him a sandwich, which turned into us getting out the condiments and squirting each other senselessly until Burt and Carole came home from work and surprisingly joined in on all the madness.

And for a while I thought I was in heaven. Then things got even better.

* * *

_So at the most I've only got two more chapters left. Hopefully I can finish this soon, because I always feel guilty about starting new fics before finishing old ones, and right now, after the whole Santana-Landslide commotion, I'm feeling really inspired. No idea whether or not I want to write something about it though, she seems pretty hard to write._

_But anyway, I also have other ideas for more Mike-Kurt stories, but I need to finish this before I start another one. So yeah... I lost my train of thought... I need to eat._

_Hope you like this!_


	17. Handle with Care

_I had fun with this chapter... now time for sleep... -_-_

_By the way, the title comes from JRA's song, Handle with Care. Look it up on youtube... like now... NOW NOW DO IT NOW!_

_Also, the things with Sam might turn into a future fic... so anxious! :D_

_Disclaimer: Do not own glee._

* * *

Things were actually looking up.

The bullying had taken a dramatic dip at school, for everyone, all thanks to Santana. Since she got together with Brittany, who brought out the best of her in my opinion (though Santana was still very… intense), people have been afraid to make fun of anyone for who they loved. Someone tried giving her heat a couple weeks ago (3 guesses who) and the next day, well, let's just say that Santana has a very vivid imagination.

The Westvale High Soccer Team also got their just desserts. They finally stepped into something they couldn't pay themselves out of: suspension with a ton of demerits and black listings that would probably keep them from getting into many colleges. Good riddance.

All that really didn't make me as happy as being back with Kurt did. Living together and being in a relationship definitely brought us closer than ever. The lazy days of cuddling together, tickle fights, and Eskimo kisses were some of the best moments of my entire life. I didn't realize how much I missed his laugh, his smile, his witty banter, his everything. And the make out sessions weren't bad either.

Of course, Burt has kinda tensed up about our relationship. I mean, he still was a nice enough guy to me… when my tongue wasn't working its way down his son's throat. The couple of times he walked in on us in one of our 'moments', there was the typical 'stare-till-everyone-turns-red' awkward moments, but after a while we got to the point where we could joke about it. They were awkward jokes, but they never ceased to crack everybody up.

Carole was okay with it; she actually thought we were sweet together, but Finn… Oh boy… The first day he walked in on us, his jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and then he clasped his hands over his eyes and started screaming, "OH GRILLED CHEEXUS! MY EYES!" and ran out of the room.

Definite mood killer. You can guess that I took some satisfaction in doing the exact same thing when I walked in on him doing the same exact thing with Quinn, but instead of running out of the room, I writhed on the floor in fake pain and agony. Quinn just laughed, but Finn looked like he was gonna blow a gasket.

But I suppose I should explain the above situation. Well, New Directions won Regionals (Whoop! Whoop!), though Kurt was surprisingly accepting of that. Of course, every time I mentioned New York, he'd give me a little pouty face, but that just made me want to tease him more and tickle him to death.

But back to the drama… well… we had a lot going on. Mercedes had met two of Kurt's Warbler friends, Wes and David, and they were both so enamored by her that they broke up with the girlfriends to court her, which led to a really happy Mercedes who had two boys fawning over her (about time too). Finn broke things off with Rachel to date Quinn again because she was really in need of comfort. At least he didn't cheat on Rachel, and he and Quinn had a healthy enough relationship now that the two of them had grown since the whole baby-gate drama. But the reason why Quinn's heart was busted into little bite sized pieces was because of a really huge bombshell. You ready?

…

Sam is gay.

Or at least bisexual, because he and Quinn really did love each other, I know that for a fact (don't ask me how… that's another story). But yeah, I was surprised. Apparently, though, when he and Blaine got to know each other better at Regionals, woo boy, you could feel the awkward sexual tension just solidify and fill up the room like jell-o. They started hanging out for a bit and one thing led to another, and well… you can probably guess the rest. When Blaine told Kurt about his little fling with Sam, he totally screamed, "I TOLD YOU SO!" This fling, though, turned into a pretty healthy relationship as well. They're actually perfect for each other: Blaine's a hopeless romantic and Sam is kind of a dork, so Blaine just found his impressions 'charming' and, well, Sam has a thing for muscles. Who knew? That's probably why he liked staring in the mirror so much… if you're wondering, that was sarcasm… but seriously, Sam needed someone who didn't judge him and embraced him wholeheartedly, and he got the total epitome of that in Blaine.

Getting Sam out of the closet and coming to terms with his feelings, though, was like pulling teeth and involved an awkward conversation with his parents (better to tell them early I always say…. Shut up, I'm saying it now!) , numerous double dates with me and Kurt, and one extremely awkward triple date with Santana and Brittany (NEVER AGAIN… just… don't even ask), but we got Sam through it.

Rachel was surprisingly taking the break up with Finn and his getting back together with Quinn rather well. I mean, at first, she was like a viral plague of diva that sort of reminded me of a short, tan, brunette Sue Sylvester on a rampage that everyone wanted to avoid at all costs, but after a girls' night sleepover with Mercedes, Tina, and Kurt, she finally worked her way through it.

So, I mean, by the time Nationals came around, we were all pumped for New York. We had worked through everything, so everyone was content. All the loose ends we had were tied up. Everything was back to normal…

That's really how I felt at that point, and looking back at myself now, I'd call myself stupid for forgetting the ultimate loose end of unresolved business facing my life for the past few months.

It was only three more days before we left for New York, and I was eating lunch with the gang as usual. Sam was trying to do his Gary Busey impersonation (emphasis on TRY) when Mr. Schuster tapped me on the shoulder. Apparently he and Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell wanted to talk to me. I didn't think much of it, though Mr. Schue looked sort of jittery as we walked down the hall. We reached the office, and, well, I was speechless.

My mom and dad turned around as Mr. Schuster and I came through the door. They stood up, and I got a good look at them. My mom had tears in her eyes, but there wasn't any sadness, just regret, present in her face. I looked at my dad, and he had the same unmistakable look of guilt on his face as well. I couldn't believe the sight in front of me.

Before I could say anything, my mom rushed into my arms and hugged me so hard that I was sure she was trying to crush my ribcage.

"Michael, I am so sorry! We are so, so, so sorry… we… we…" Her words trailed off into tears and at that point I couldn't hold back my tears either. The part of me that been missing them so much, the part that had been dormant for the past few weeks, came back full throttle to fill every fiber of my being. I squeezed her just as tight, not wanting to let go. My dad walked over and joined in, tears in his eyes as well. I just couldn't believe it.

We stood there, hugging all our feelings out for a very, very long time. When we felt that we had gotten most of our emotions out, Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell gestured for us to sit down. After we all had regained our composure, my mom and dad filled me in on what they were up to.

They told me that they had been in California with my Aunt and Uncle who, after many late night talks and convincing, helped my parents realize how much they missed me. I was so emotional that I couldn't remember exactly what was said, but they told me that it would take some time for them to get used to the idea of me being, well, attracted to Kurt (let me remind you that Kurt has been just about the only person I have ever been attracted to). But they realized that no matter how much that makes them uncomfortable, I'm still the same boy that asked for bedtime stories when I was little and who helped them make moon cakes on Chinese New Year. I was still the son that they loved, no matter what. And it just meant so much to me that they said that with complete and total honesty in their eyes.

I told them about everything that happened since they left: the outing at school, the beating in the park, Regionals, Kurt, everything. And they listened, very intently and with open ears. It had been so long since we've been able to share so openly about anything.

After a while, we decided to continue this later at home, so we thanked Mr. Schue and Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell as my parents went home and I went to class.

Home. I couldn't wait to go home again.

…

I was frantic.

I paced around the kitchen, checking all the dishes that I helped Carole prepare for the evening. Everything seemed alright, so I proceeded to the dining room. All the settings were in order. I checked the living room to see if everything was neat and tidy. Good. Good. I wanted tonight to go off without a hitch.

My parents were coming to pick me up and transfer back all my stuff to my house. We were originally going to just make a quick moving run, since I could basically still carry everything around on my back, but then Carole just had to insist that they stay for dinner. My boyfriend and his family was about to meet my family. Oh geez.

As I made another round into the kitchen, Kurt appeared and stopped me in my tracks.

"Okay, you're going to have to stop that or you're going to burn holes into our carpet." He dragged me to the living room and led me to the couch.

"Oh no please, I just fixed the cushions-"

"Screw the cushions and just relax." He pushed me down and smiled as he plopped next to me. "Everything's going to be fine. Just breathe, Mikey. Breathe."

I took his advice and took slow breaths. He was right. Everything's going to be fine. It's just dinner, right? What could possibly go wrong?

…

Well I could trip and spill the chicken everywhere…. And Finn could say something really inappropriate…. And what if my parents didn't like Kurt…. I mean, how could they not, but you never know….

"I said relax, damn it!" Kurt grabbed my shoulders and shook me, sensing my thoughts and nervousness.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulders. "Oh just shoot me now."

"If you keep stressing, I just might. You're negative energy is getting on my nerves!"

I nudged him in the side, and right as it did, the door bell rang. I shot to my feet and screamed, forcing Finn and Carole to run into the room with Burt limping closely behind.

Kurt got up and slapped me clear across the face. "You're such a spaz." He walked over and answered the door.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Chang! Come on in!"

My mom and dad came in smiling, wearing formal-casual clothing and carrying mashed potatoes for some odd reason. Carole and Burt greeted them and ushered them into dining room. Everything was going well. I turned to Finn as we walked to the dining room and did the 'zip-your-lip' motion before we sat down. He just looked at me and smirked.

After the food had been brought out and distributed, the conversation was light and flowed easily.

"Thank you so much for taking such good care of our son Mrs. Hummel-"

"Oh don't mention it! And please, call me Carole." My mom smiled. "But really, thank you for raising such an amazing young man. He was so helpful around the house."

My mom looked at me and smiled with pride. "Yes, well, Mike always was my little helper. Not so little anymore though." She then got a sentimental look in her eyes, no doubt from a flashback she was having from my childhood.

"Yeah, you're boy has grown up into a fine young man since you two have been gone," Burt chimed in. "You should be proud."

"We are." My dad had been characteristically silent before that point. I looked at him as he smiled and smiled back. "We're happy to be back and taking him home."

"Believe me, we are too." Finn had a smirk on his face. "You don't know how many times I've walked in on these two-OUCH!"

Kurt had kicked Finn under the table. He just continued smirking and shrugged. "What? Just saying."

Kurt and I both turned red. Trying to shake the awkward feeling that her son just created, Carole chimed in. "So California… How was it?"

"Oh, um, it was fine. Beautiful weather, Los Angeles. It was very pleasant."

Awkward silence. You could hear the scraping of silver ware across the china.

"So, Kurt, your parents said you go to private school?" My mom was never good with awkward silences.

Kurt looked up. "Oh, yes, I do. I went through some bullying issues, so I transferred, but I'm planning on returning to McKinley for senior year."

"That's good. That's good."

Another awkward silence.

It was agonizing to deal with all these silences.

"Must have been rough," my dad said, "having to deal with all that bullying."

He didn't say it with any bitterness in his voice, but I could tell that that question came from a serious place.

"Yes, it was. Terrifying. But your son helped me through it." Kurt grabbed my hand and laced our fingers. "He's amazing."

The two of us gave each other meaningful looks before Finn said something REALLY inappropriate. "Oh stop talking about how he is in bed, Kurt."

My dad almost did a spit take while my mom almost choked on her chicken breast. Burt and Carole gave Finn a very sour look as Kurt kicked him under the table, this time much harder. He was getting back at me for barging in on him and Quinn. I could tell by the smirk on his face.

EXTREMELY awkward silence.

No one could even look each other in the eye after that.

"For the record, your son and I have never had sex." Kurt finally said after what seemed like forever. "My stepbrother's just being an idiot…"

My mom and dad just nodded awkwardly. Fortunately, everyone had finished their meals, so Kurt, Finn, and I took all the dirty dishes and cleaned up (I hit Finn over the head a couple of times while we passed each other) while the parents went to the living room. Basketball was on, and both Burt and my dad love basketball. As they bonded over the Chicago bulls, my mom and Carole talked mom-talk, you know, where'd you get this, who does your hair, etc.

Finn got engrossed in the game as Kurt and I sat in the kitchen, staring out at our families bonding more smoothly. Kurt took my hand and kissed me on the forehead.

"See, you had nothing to worry about. They're getting along quite nicely."

"Yeah, I just would have preferred that Finn not say half the things he said over dinner."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Oh don't worry about him. I have ideas on how we can get him back." He flashed his mischievous face, to which I found rather sexy, actually.

I smiled and pulled him into a kiss.

NOW everything was falling into place.

There was just one thing left to do: win Nationals.

* * *

_yeah, have NO IDEA what I'm doing for nationals... suggestions?_

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter. _

_P.S. Sorry if there are alot of mistakes... I'm tired and couldn't sleep until I got this idea out of my head... Curse my bossy creativity!_


	18. When You Believe

_Okay so I have alot to say about this chapter, the final chapter. First, I'm sorry that this has so little Chummel, but the way I've built up the story, where Kurt and Mike virtually had no more problems monumental enough for Nationals, I had to focus on everyone else. Second, like the previous chapter, once I start I can't finish, so it's late and I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. Third, I just wanted to say that it's been a pleasure writing this, and I hope it's been a pleasure to read. Thank you so much for taking the time to actually read this. It means so, so much to me._

_Disclaimer: I do not own glee, and the songs belong to their respective owners._

* * *

Last year, getting to Regionals meant the world to us. It was us against the world, us fighting for survival and the world fighting to snuff us out. Last year, it seemed that everyone was against us just because we were doing something that they didn't understand. We were hated, ridiculed, outcast just for doing something we loved, but we kept singing anyway for one reason: it was something that we loved doing. That's why last year, when we found out that we could continue doing what we loved with the people we have grown so attached to, it felt like the world was ours, like we had won something so wonderful and awe-inspiring that nothing else mattered. We had grown into a family, and at that point, when Mr. Schuster was singing _Somewhere Over the Rainbow_ with Puck, our family was in a place of unity, hope, love, and every other positive emotion you can think of.

But that was last year.

This year, we came to know all too well that families fight. Families have disagreements. Families crumble. Families make each other say things that they don't mean. Families take each other for granted, thinking that they'll always be there, no matter how badly they're treated. With Nationals on the horizon, we came to realize that our family was still no exception.

It was all because of Sue Sylvester. Bitter that she was denied the chance to go to her Nationals, she didn't want to give us the satisfaction of winning ours. That's why she set out on attacking our insecurities, the things that fed the voids in our hearts, and she knew that no one knew as much about our insecurities as we did about each other. That's why she sent Jesse St. James to Rachel, to set the domino effect into place.

Apparently Rachel wasn't completely over Finn and Quinn. Either that or Jesse really got under her skin. I don't know what he said to her, but it was obvious that he still knew just what to say to break her heart into millions of tiny pieces just as he did last year. Reminded by Jesse of all her insecurities, Rachel went off completely at Finn and Quinn.

Those two weren't without their drama either. Finn was dealing with so much leadership anxiety, which meant that because he had to deal with everyone else's problems to keep us together, he inevitably had to neglect his own. So when he reached his breaking point, he blew up at Quinn, who was dealing with her own problems. No teen mom ever gives up her baby and never looks back. Last month, she ran into Shelby Corcoran and Beth. Seeing how much Beth had grown, how much she resembled her, just broke Quinn's heart. Seeing that tiny child just put a strain on her fragile little heart. So when Finn, in a heated rage, used Beth against her, she just snapped.

Puck felt the exact same way. He never got over having to give up his daughter, and it killed him to hear from Quinn how Beth was getting along without him. Now, he and Lauren fight all the time; it's sort of like their form of banter, but Puck, feeling ultra sensitive, called her a 'fat cow' when she joked about Beth in an attempt to cheer him up. Needless to say, hell broke loose.

Artie, on the other hand, had his own issues to deal with. Being in a wheelchair has left him with a lasting depression, which was understandable. But he really can't control his mouth in his depression mode. In order to make himself feel better, he not only rants about how bad his life is while constantly attacking everybody for their crimes against him. He did it to Tina last year for lying about her stutter. He did it to Brittany this year for taking his virginity. Right then, though, he just needed a punching bag. Unfortunately he had chosen Tina, who was starting to revert back to her hyper-shy personality in the midst of all this chaos was hanging on by a thin thread. But because of Artie, though, that thread had snapped.

Santana had a similar defense mechanism to Artie's. When things got rough, she just tore people to shreds with that knife-blade of a tongue of hers. Her constant comments in the background of everyone's drama just added fuel to the fire, which left her even more on edge because everyone was snapping right back, making her feel worse. Still, she kept on doing it, and eventually it got to the point where she couldn't help but lash out at every single person in her way. Even Brittany. Brit cried her heart out.

Santana also made the mistake of tearing apart Mercedes, who went into 'Defensive Diva' mode and cut herself off from everyone else. It sucked because Mercedes probably could have helped Sam, Mr. Schuster and me reconcile all these differences.

All three of us didn't know what to do. Mr. Schue, Finn, and Kurt had brought us back from stuff like this before, but Mr. Schue's words fell on deaf ears. Finn was definitely not going to cooperate. And Kurt wasn't even in the same state. Sam and I definitely don't have the emotional capacity to fix all this either. We just needed to find a way to get them to listen.

"What are we going to do?" Mr. Schue had never looked so distraught. ""We worked so hard to get here and now everyone's just so willing to throw it all away!"

Sam sighed. "Well, we tried everything. It doesn't seem like this is gonna work out." He slammed his hand on the table. "Man, if only they could see what their anger was doing to all of them, what kind of monsters they're turning into."

At that, I got an idea. "Maybe that's it." They both looked at me curiously. "We've tried to talk to everyone individually, and we tried to talk to them rationally and empathetically, but they won't listen. We need to get everyone together and remind them of why we're all here in the first place. We're in New York for Christ's sake! But like Sam said, if they want to act like monsters, then we have to show them some monsters."

…

The room was completely scattered. Everyone was glued to their chairs and spaced out with ten feet in-between them. It made me sick. What made me even sicker was that Brittany was still crying in the corner and nobody was so much as batting and eyelash.

While they were distracted by how angry they wanted to look to each other, I burst in and gave Finn, Rachel, and Quinn a slushy facial. Sam came from the other side and hit Puck, Santana, and Lauren while Mr. Schue got Tina, Artie, and Mercedes right in the face. As everyone got up from their chairs in an incoherent rage, I threw a giant glass vase at the wall.

"Sit your stupid asses down!"

They all turned to me, my face red from anger and my veins popping out. Everyone just stared at me with absolute shock and fear in their eyes.

"I SAID SIT DOWN, DAMN IT!"

I threw a second vase, prompting everyone to slowly sit back down again.

Finn spoke up. "Dude, what's your problem?"

The nerve. "My problem? MY PROBLEM!" He winced as I went up to him and screamed in his face. "My problem is that you guys are acting like freaking idiots!"

"Oh cut the act, Gasian," snipped Santana.

"Yeah, you have no right to talk to us like that. You have no idea what we're going through right now-"

My face started to burn as I got even madder. "Oh yeah, because all your relationship problems are just as bad as getting kicked out of your house, being hated by your parents, and getting beat up and sent to the hospital!"

Everyone looked down in recoil. "S-still doesn't give you the right to yell at us like this."

I looked at Santana. "Oh and you have the right to break Brittany's heart and make her cry for the last five hours?"

She looked at Brittany who furrowed her eyebrows through her tears as a way of saying that I was right. Santana just crossed her arms and looked down.

Mr. Schuster took over, giving me a chance to calm down. "Listen, we're sorry it had to come to this, but you guys left us absolutely no choice. I know you're all hurting in different ways, but this isn't the way to deal with it. You've all had your deepest, darkest secrets used against you by the people you care about the most, but hey, most of us had been through worse." He looked at me and Quinn. "Believe me, there could be worse things. I know it'll be hard to forgive each other, and impossible to forget, but we have to pick up the pieces and do our best to put them back together again." He sighed. "Mike just showed you the kind of people that you've all become. Can you guys honestly say that you like what you see?"

Everyone just sat there in silence, looking at the floor in shame and guilt over what was said over the past few days. After a long pause, Brittany got up, took off her jacket, and walked over to Santana. She began using her favorite jacket to wipe off the red slushy dripping from her face. As Santana looked into Brittany's eyes, eyes full of childlike naiveté that doubled as insightful wisdom and forgiveness, Brittany smiled, bringing Santana to tears and making her pull Brittany into a gentle hug.

"I'm so sorry Brit."

Brittany just patted Santana's head as she continued to wipe off the slushy.

Following Brittany's actions, everyone else made their way to each other and started to make amends. Slushy covered tears, hugging, and making up was a good sight to see after all that war. It was actually the best sight that New York had to offer.

* * *

We were up last at Nationals. According to Rachel, that was good, since we wanted to be "fresh in the judges' minds" and all that. This time, we weren't nervous. None of us were after the intense emotional session we had yesterday.

Vocal Adrenaline was currently on stage. They were doing a killer dance routine set to Sunshine's vocals in a mash up of Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera. It was interesting; especially with Sunshine killing the vocals, but it was really heavy on show but seriously lacked any choir for a performance in a show CHOIR competition. The dancers barely sang two verses (seriously, I counted!). Oh well, it's their performance.

We were all getting ourselves ready. We all had gospel robes on, a different color for each person, with matching stripes of face paint across our faces. The robes were hiding our second costumes for our second number in our set list, but you'll find out about that later.

"Well don't you guys look like the funkiest gospel choir in town, and in New York, that's saying something."

Sam and I turned around and saw Blaine and Kurt standing there with amused looks on their faces. We both ran up and tried to give our respective boyfriends kisses, but Kurt stopped me. (Sam on the other hand, looked like he was sucking out Blaine's internal organs)

"Hey, hey, no paint goes near this face!" Kurt mused.

I laughed, though Kurt would look good in the indigo paint I was wearing. "What are you two doing here?"

"My dad had a bunch of frequent flier miles that were about to expire, so he gave them to us."

Sam looked at Blaine playfully. "You stole that line from _The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2_!"

Blaine just laughed at him while I stared at Sam's light blue painted face in amazement that he caught that movie reference. I did too, it's just I didn't expect Sam to… oh well.

Kurt smiled. "You didn't think we'd miss our boyfriends in their biggest performance ever, did you?"

I feigned nervousness. "Well, now you just got me so jittery. Oh! I can't go on!" I attempted to fall dramatically on Kurt, but he just pushed me back. I messed up his hair as he scrunched his nose. "You're the best."

"Oh I know, honey. I know." He smiled as he fixed his hair.

"Well, you guys are just in time. I think Vocal Adrenaline just finished, so we should be on in a couple of minutes."

"Oh, well we better hurry back to our seats!"

"Oh hey, Kurt!" Mercedes, who had yellow face paint on, called after him. "Rachel and I'll go with you. We're starting our performance from the audience anyway."

Blaine had a questioning look on his face as they walked away. "Why do you guys always start your performances from the audience anyway?"

Rachel, with her hot pink robe on, opened her mouth to answer, but then her face went blank. "I don't know, actually…"

About five minutes after they left, the announcer came onto the mike (wow, I won't even go into how wrong that sounds to me…).

The music began, and our two resident divas did what they did best.

Mercedes started, rightfully singing the Whitney Houston part.

**[Mercedes]**_"Many nights we prayed _

_with no proof anyone could hear, _

_in our hearts a hopeful song we barely understood. _

_Now we are not afraid, _

_although we know there's much to fear. _

_We were moving mountains long before we knew we could. Oh-"_

A spotlight appeared on Rachel, walking down the aisle parallel to Mercedes. She sang the main chorus while Mercedes echoed in harmony.

**[Rachel] **_"There can be miracles _

_when you believe. _

_Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill."_

They had made it to the stage and joined hands, singing together in perfect harmony.

**[Both]**_"Who knows what miracles_

_You can achieve_

_When you believe_

_Somehow you will_

_You will when you believe"_

They broke their hold and faced each other, preparing for an intense duel of their equally strong voices.

"_They don't always happen when you ask_

_And it's easy to give into your fears_

_But when you're blinded by your pain_

_Can't see you way clear through the rain_

_A small but still resilient voice says help is very near. Oh-"_

As they held that note together, the curtain raised, revealing all of us swaying in the background, joining in on the chorus.

**[All]**_"There can be miracles _

_when you believe. _

_Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill._

_Who knows what miracles_

_You can achieve_

_When you believe_

_Somehow you will_

_Somehow you will_

_You will when you believe"_

The music stopped, leaving us all still, allowing Rachel and Mercedes' voices to be heard clear as a bell.

"_You will when you believe"_

At their last note, the crowd rose to its feet in a standing ovation. We relished in that for a good few seconds before Lauren, in her green robe stepped up to the front.

**[Lauren]**_"It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M _

_Just put your paws up _

_'Cause you were born this way, baby"_

A pounding beat came resonating through the speakers around us and we threw off our robes to reveal outfits much like our _Empire State of Mind _outfits, except minus the bling and with splatters of paint of corresponding color dotting the black fabric. Everyone did a dance as Brittany and Santana strutted to the front in their respective maroon and red face paint.

**[Brittany] **_"My mama told me when I was young _

_We're all born superstars"_

**[Santana] **_"She rolled my hair, put my lipstick on _

_In the glass of her boudoir"_

**[Both] **_"There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are" _

_She said, "'Cause He made you perfect, babe" _

_"So hold your head up, girl and you'll go far, _

_Listen to me when I say"_

**[All] "**_I'm beautiful in my way, _

_'Cause God makes no mistakes _

_I'm on the right track, baby _

_I was born this way _

_Don't hide yourself in regret, _

_Just love yourself and you're set _

_I'm on the right track, baby _

_I was born this way _

_Ooo, there ain't no other way _

_Baby, I was born this way _

_Baby, I was born this way _

_Ooo, there ain't other way _

_Baby, I was born this way _

_Right track, baby _

_I was born this way"_

We changed formation as the guys came forward. Sam and I started break dancing while Finn, in orange paint, and Puck, in dark gray paint, moved forward for their part before moving on to our solos.

**[Finn, Puck]** _"Don't be a drag, just be a queen _

_Don't be a drag, just be a queen _

_Don't be a drag, just be a queen _

_Don't be!"_

**[Me] **_"Give yourself prudence and love your friends _

_Subway kid, rejoice the truth"_

**[Sam] **_"In the religion of the insecure _

_I must be myself, respect my youth"_

**[Both]**_ "A different lover is not a sin _

_Believe capital H-I-M (hey, hey, hey) _

_I love my life, I love this record and _

_Mi amore vole fe yah"_

The entire New Directions joined in at the chorus again, dancing crazily and giving off insane vocals. Then purple-face Quinn, teal-faced Artie, and blue-faced Tina rolled forward.

**[Quinn] **_"Don't be a drag, just be a queen _

_Whether you're broke or evergreen _

_You're black, white, beige, chola descent _

_You're Lebanese, you're orient"_

**[Artie] **_"Whether life's disabilities _

_Left you outcast, bullied or teased _

_Rejoice and love yourself today _

_'Cause baby, you were born this way"_

**[Tina] **_"No matter gay, straight or bi _

_lesbian, transgendered life _

_I'm on the right track, baby _

_I was born to survive _

_No matter black, white or beige _

_chola or orient made _

_I'm on the right track, baby _

_I was born to be brave"_

After Tina finished her solo and we moved onto the final chorus, I looked out to find Kurt and Blaine with Mr. Schuster in the third row. They had the hugest smiles on their faces that came from a genuine enjoyment of the performance. As we all melded together on the last note, sounding in a euphoric twelve part harmony, we bowed our heads and listened to the intense cheering of the crowd. We had finally given the world the giant middle finger that it deserved for trying to destroy our family. We all held hands and took our final bows, and I just knew that victory had come no matter what the judges thought.

* * *

Kurt and I just laid there in bed, enfolding each other in our arms.

"Just leave it in a little while longer." Kurt said softly.

"C'mon, I gotta take it out." I tried to lift myself from the bed, but Kurt wouldn't release me.

"Pretty, pretty please. Don't get up. You're so warm." He smiled coyly at me and tried to kiss my hand.

I smirked and shook my head. "You silly head. I love you, but I swear, if I watch _The Sound of Music_ one more time, I'll go insane!"

I left the bed and ejected the DVD from the player just as Maria and Captain von Trapp were about to kiss.

"You're no fun!" He sat up and folded his arms, scrunching up his face as he did so. "Well now you and I will just have to sing the rest ourselves."

He opened his mouth to sing, but I quickly pounced on him and clamped it shut with my lips. He wrapped his arms around my neck as my hands wrapped around his waist. Just then, we heard a thump against the wall and the voices of Sam and Blaine erupt right afterwards.

I banged on the wall. "Hey, keep it down!"

They responded by banging even more and moaning more frequently and with higher volume.

I smiled. "Those sluts."

Kurt giggled and just nuzzled my nose with his. "You know, we really haven't officially celebrated your victory yet..."

I smirked as he raised his eyebrows with an extremely sexy and mischievous look. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked him.

He nodded and slowly pulled me in. As his lips came closer and closer, I could feel the excitement send shivers of anticipation throughout my body.

"Ben & Jerry's?" He whispered.

"So long as you're buying."

* * *

_yeah, this last scene is to make up for the severe lack of chummel content in the most recent chapters. Like I said, I wrote myself into serious plot holes. The last two chapters turned into 'How I would rewrite season 2' rather than 'How I would put Mike and Kurt together', but I digress. Anyway, I find it unfair that Tina is the only Main Cast member to NOT have a solo in competition, so that's why I did Born this Way by Lady Gaga (thanks to Number1KurtHummelFan for the suggestion!) I really wish I could create the musical numbers I used in this fic as I pictured them, but sadly I don't have friends that would do that... I don't have friends period... that's why I wrote this thing... but anywho!_

_Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! BTW, the songs I used as titles for the chapters are awesome, so please check them out... now... as it right now... NOW NOW, DO IT NOW!_

_P.S. In honor of the earthquakes in Japan, the tsunamis on the pacific coast, the political unrest in Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Egypt, and all other tragic situations in the world, big as these or as small as a depressed little boy sitting alone in his room, I want to say that there can be miracles if we all just believe. May we all receive help in these difficult times. _

_Best Wishes_

_ RaiRai92 _


	19. New York

_I was in such a romantic mood, and I wanted to right something to make up for the lack of Chummel in the most recent chapters, so here's another chapter. I like pretty numbers, so I'm probably going to write another chapter to make it an even 20, but after this, I don't know how I'm going to top myself. This is basically my idea of how Mike and Kurt's most perfect day would go: Kurt and Mike doing the things they love and enjoying each other's company. *sigh* Makes me wish I had a relationship like this with somebody... but anywho! Enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own glee._

* * *

The sun rose on the New York skyline. The light made its way through the sheer white curtains. I smiled at the sight as I slowly strummed the guitar that I borrowed from Puck while he was sleeping upside down on the couch in his room. The feathery clouds lining the sky looked like cotton candy, contrasting their delicate and gentle lines with the contours of the skyscrapers.

I heard movement behind me. Kurt came up to me and started kissing my neck. "I didn't know you could play the guitar…"

I smiled wider. "Puck's been teaching me. Could come in handy next year, you know?"

He rested his head on my back and locked his arms around my waist as I kept playing. I tried to produce the gentlest melody to appease his ears. I could feel his lips form into a smile on my back and his eyes flutter open and closed again. He caught sight of the clock. "It's 6:30! Why are you up so early?"

"Well, I was trying to give you a very gentle wake up call. It obviously worked."

He pouted. "Why did you have to do it so early, though? I really could have used two-three more hours of sleep."

"I figured you had enough when you fell asleep at 10 after you finished licking all the chocolate ice cream off my abs!"

He blushed lightly. "Well excuse me for falling victim to a chocolate comma. Gosh!"

I nudged him in the ribcage. "Go get ready."

He cocked his head to the side playfully. "Why?"

"We have a very big day planned ahead of us, just you, me, and the great New York City."

He raised an eyebrow. "What about everyone else?"

"Well I checked on everybody. They all were up partying hard and celebrating like there was no tomorrow." I smirked. "You should have seen how funny Finn looked, hanging over the edge of the bed."

He stretched himself and let out the cutest little noise from his throat. "Okay fine, where are we going?"

I got up and started dancing around while I strummed the guitar. "Well, I figured we could get some breakfast in a cute little café near Fifth Avenue. Then we could go shopping a bit," his face lit up at the word 'shopping', "and then go get lunch before we check out a few art exhibits. Then we could take a stroll around the park before heading to see someone's favorite musical, _Wicked_, on Broadway with these oh so primo tickets that I just happened to score."

His jaw dropped as I pulled out two third row tickets. He jumped up and down in excitement. "OMG! Who has the best boyfriend ever?"

I held my hand to my lips in thought. "Hm… You…" He wrapped his arms around my neck and held me close.

"I love you." He said this so tenderly and genuinely that it tugged my heartstrings in twenty directions at once.

I smiled. "I love you too." Then I broke the hug and slapped his adorable round buttocks. "No go get ready!"

He shot me a coy look as he skipped happily to the bathroom, change of clothes in hand. Amazingly, he was finished with his daily skincare regimen, grooming, and outfit preparation before I could even pick out my clothes from my luggage. When Kurt gets ready faster than me, you know he's excited.

We left Mr. Schue a note, though I already filled him in on my plans last night, to which he greatly approved. It was cool of him to let us run around New York without a chaperone. Of course, he was so drunk last night that he'd agree to anything, but you know, he still agreed.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The clouds had subsided and the sun now shined clearly in the sky as we proceeded through the day unencumbered. It turns out that we didn't even need a chaperone. We navigated the streets like it was second nature to us, like we were New Yorkers in a past life.

We ate a small breakfast at a café and proceeded to Fifth Avenue so that Kurt could basically spend four hours in heaven while I carried his bags. Luckily for us, there were a whole bunch of sales going on at all his favorite stores. It was like God was actually trying to give us the perfect day.

Kurt was still rebounding with endless energy after we ate lunch, so after we dropped off Kurt's shopping prospects at the hotel, we went to some of the art museums where basically Kurt and I stared at the paintings, our heads cocked to the side, wondering what the heck we were looking at. There was one painting that he thought was a naked lady while I thought it was a dying cat. Oh art.

We stopped by a local Starbucks and accidentally bumped into the admissions councilor of Julliard. Amazing, right? We introduced ourselves and told him we were here for the National Show Choir completion, and at the name, New Directions, his face lit up and he offered both of us his business card and information. Holy grilled cheesus!

After we excitedly talked about the prospect of Julliard, we went to a local park. We walked holding hands, completely visible in public, and no one even batted an eyelash. We even passed another gay couple, and they eyed us up and down just like in those clichéd romantic comedy movies. As soon as they were out of sight, we laughed, and as we did, we accidentally ran into… wait for it… Anne Hathaway! Apparently, she lived in New York. Kurt started freaking out, and she was surprisingly chill about it. We took a couple pictures with her and got her autograph on a program of our show choir pamphlet that I forgot to take out of my pocket last night. As we went our separate ways, Kurt looked at the pictures and couldn't wait to show the New Direction girls and see jealous looks on their faces.

Then came Kurt's most anticipated part of the day: _Wicked_. You should have seen the adorable face of pure admiration and awe as he watched intently at the performers weaving flawless performances and belting out perfect note after perfect note. It was so precious to see him so happy.

As we picked up some quick dinner and headed back to the hotel, I just stared at his face full of complete and utter contentment and bliss. I smiled as he rested his head on my shoulder as we walked, our hands laced together, and headed back to the hotel.

Everyone was waiting in the lobby. Kurt ran to the girls to fill them in on his perfect day and to show them the pictures of Anne Hathaway and the business card of Julliard's admissions councilor (Rachel looked like she was going to blow a gasket). The guys came up to me and filled me in on their boring day of seeing the sights.

Kurt and I made our way up to our room, slightly exhausted but still full of plenty of energy. Still, I collapsed on the bed and laid there while Kurt went to the bathroom.

When he came out, he cleared his throat. I looked over to him and saw him standing there. He had taken his shirt off and was wearing nothing but pajama pants. He made his way over to me and sat down on my lap.

"Thank you so much for today, Mikey. It was the best day ever." He sounded like he was six years old again and had just spent the day at Disneyworld.

I smiled. "It was my pleasure. Making you happy makes me happy."

Then things got… interesting.

He had his sexy/mischievous look on his face and slowly started to unbutton my shirt. "Really?"

I gulped. The temperature was rapidly rising after each button he undid. When he had successfully gotten all of them, he put his hands beneath my undershirt and started feeling my abs. My hands were fixed nervously at his waist, my face turning tomato red as all this was happening.

"Well, do you know what would really make me happy?"

He pushed me down on my back and pulled my undershirt off. His body heat on top of mine made me feel hotter than Santana's dad's five alarm hot sauce handmade and imported from Mexico. At his question, I tried to answer, but my throat was so dry that nothing could come out. I just shook my head in response.

And then he smiled the sexiest smile I had ever seen him give me, and my heart just melted while my brain simultaneously short-circuited. Taking in my reaction with such a cool satisfaction, he closed his eyes and pulled me into a kiss. Hottest kiss ever.

…

I'd tell you more, but I don't feel comfortable sharing that kind of information with the world… so please forgive me as I kinda skip over that part. Yeah… use your imagination. With the media how it is today, you could probably think of something better than how I could describe it… though I doubt you could do it justice.

It was amazing, though, our first time. To be that close together, not just physically, but emotionally, just felt so… right… and on a superficial level… Oh God! Woo Nelly! Now I know why Sam and Blaine always tried to get each other alone.

I woke up in the middle of the night and glanced at the clock. 3 o'clock. We had to leave in about four hours for the airport. I looked down at Kurt, smiling in his sleep, and gently stroked his face. He looked so perfect, his skin glowing in the light of the full moon. I kissed his forehead and just laid there and stared at his perfection. I thought about how we spent our day, how we could just go about our business, walking the streets of New York without anyone judging us. I pictured us together, years later, living here and making it big. I imagined seeing his smiling face every morning and coming home to his laugh every night. I imagined a penthouse, big and classy, with the sound of children and maybe a dog puttering around on the floor, us chasing them around and relishing in the sound of the words, "Daddy, that tickles!"

As I sat there dreaming of our life together, I knew that Kurt Hummel was the only person in the world that I wanted to spend my life with. I wanted to be with him all the days of my life. No matter what storms or floods awaited either of us in the future, so long as we had each other, I just knew, with no doubts anywhere in my mind that we could handle anything, so long as we had each other. I loved him more than anything in the world.

For once, everything in my life was perfect. Everything was turning out okay. God had given me everything that I needed to live my life happily. The rest was up to me, to us, to make it turn out alright.

And every little thing is going to be alright. I just know it.

* * *

_yeah, I'm such a lightweight. I can't write ***those* **kinds of scenes without it sounding totally awkward, so yeah, skipped over it. Sorry! But yeah._

_Yeah, meeting Anne Hathaway in a park in New York actually happened to my cousin, so that gave me the idea since I knew that Anne was a fan of Chris..._

_No idea what I want to do for the next chapter. It has to be something big, being the last chapter and all, so yeah, suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated._

_P.S. This chapter is about spending the day with someone you love, and I just feel for so many people in the world who can't do that because of 1) tragedies like those in Japan and chaos like those in the Middle East or 2) because people are afraid to share their feelings with the people they love_

_Best Wishes,_

_RaiRai92_

_EDIT: Yeah, this is going to be the last chapter. I need to figure out how to balance fanfiction with homework and chores, and once I start a chapter, I can't do anything else until I finish it. So I need to take a break for a while. So just to be clear, NO MORE CHAPTERS TO THIS FIC. I may take a hiatus too... EAT MORE CHICKEN! _


	20. Story of Us

_So yeah, I've had this idea for a while, but I've just been busy! I hope people will still read this because I worked really hard on this... REALLY HARD... but yeah, this is definitely the last chapter. :( But yeah I really wanted to wrap this up like this. Sorry the ending kinda sucks... oh and the title song doesn't fit at all because it's a break up song, but it was the only song that I could think of to go with the story!_

_Anyway, read and enjoy and review if you want (Please!)_

* * *

Ah, Summer: a time of freedom. A time of warmth and rest. A time where those still in their youth to take a break from their studies and frolic in excitement. Oh how he loves summer. He loves how the gentle breeze quietly caressing his face as the sun shines so intensely at the same time. He loves how the shadows of the trees in the park create the most beautiful shapes on his skin as he lies there, under a big oak tree in the park, simply admiring how wonderful life is. He loves how the remnants of spring still linger still, reminding him of wonderful times he had when the flowers were blooming after a frigid winter: all the laughs, all the smiles, all the good times that lasted through the unexpected rains that came in the spring as well. He loves how the sentimental tidings of spring perfectly meshes with the promise that lies ahead in the fall: Julliard. Yes, Julliard. His acceptance letter came in the mail just a few weeks ago, also bringing the good news of a full scholarship, which, of course, brought him such immense joy and happiness that was impossible to contain.

So yes, he loves summer, and this summer especially seems all the more sweeter. The rollercoaster ride that was high school had come to an end, a ride that was full of extreme highs and lows that greatly exceeded any other teenagers' high school experience. Bullying, drama, relationships, and revelations kept this young man intensely occupied over the past four years, and while it was grueling and intense, he lies there grateful for the growth that his experiences have brought him. He walked through fire, but instead of getting burned, he emerged stronger than he had before. A very important chapter in his life had ended. He now knows exactly who he is and where he stands. Now he gets to move forward in life, starting a new chapter of self-betterment in his life, while he gets to follow his dreams and make a life built around music and singing and dancing and fun and, most of importantly of course, love.

Yes, the sweetest thing about this entire situation is that he has found love. True love. The kind of love that people look at an admire and envy all at the same time. The kind of love that poets have written about and singers have sung about for countless centuries was here in his grasp, and while it isn't a conventional love, as defined by society, no one could look at the two of them together and say that their love wasn't true. Because it is.

Thinking of his love, he smiles. He sprawls out on the freshly cut grass and laughs at the tickling sensation that it brought. The same news came to his love from Julliard: acceptance in the fall with a full scholarship in hand. Just the thought that they both can see each other every day, enjoying the arts that they love so very much in a city that brings them nothing but pure joy and excitement just intensifies his smile.

All in all, he was happy. He was happy where his life was leading him, and he couldn't have asked for anything more.

* * *

Kurt Hummel skipped joyfully up the steps of the Chang household. He had a spring in his step and melody on his tongue that he couldn't even contain. He rang the doorbell and waited at the door, looking around at the clear day bathed in the golden glow of perfect sunlight.

Mrs. Chang opened the door and greeted the fair skinned boy as she had for the past year or so. "Kurt Hummel! What a pleasant surprise! It has been SUCH a long time since I saw you last!"

Kurt smiled at the joking tone in her voice. "Oh it has been far too long since I saw you last, Mrs. Chang, you are quite right! The past two days of my life have been so bleak without your wit and charm!"

They both smiled and hugged each other briefly before Kurt entered the house and removed his new designer shoes. As he proceeded down the hall, the smell of chocolate filled Kurt's nostrils instantly, widening his eyes to a frightening extent. Mrs. Chang saw this and chuckled.

"I just made a chocolate cake. Would you like some, dear?"

Kurt poked his head around the corner to see the cake in question cooling off on the counter with a jar of frosting just waiting to be eaten. He licked his lips, wanting to give in to temptation, but shook his head.

"As... tempting as that sounds, I'll have to say no. I have to watch my figure." Mrs. Chang raised one eyebrow and smirked. Though Kurt was actually quite serious about that statement, they both knew that his mentality wouldn't last long. "Maybe later, of course."

"Of course!" Mrs. Chang laughed as she walked back to the kitchen to work on some other tantilizing creation while Kurt proceeded upstairs. Then she had a revelation. "Oh Kurt, sweetie, Mike's not here. I sent him out to get a couple of ingredients at the market."

Kurt turned back and nodded. "Oh, that's fine. I'll just rummage around his room I guess, maybe help him with some early packing. You know how painfully unorganized your son is when it comes to stull like that."

Mrs. Chang let out a hearty laugh as she nodded. "Oh good luck with that!"

Kurt giggled and proceeded back up the stairs. He made his way down the hall and into Mike's room, which was as messy as usual: bed unmade and sprawled with sheets and clothes, floor littered with papers and books, desk crammed with empty green tea bottles, drawers open and nearly falling out of the dresser, trash overflowing with only God knows what. And Mike still wonders why Kurt insists on sleeping on the couch when he stays over. WHen they move into the same dorm at Julliard, Mike had better clean up his act, literally, or he will get a loud earfull from Kurt Hummel.

Kurt sighed and carefully proceeded to clean up a bit. In a short half-hour, he was able to clear the floor and the dresser but everything else just seemed like a lost cause. The bed literally looked like a mishapen monster that could consume the young man if he wasn't careful, so he hesitantly poked around the bed, picking up what he thought was safe, before he accidently tripped over something, he couldn't even tell what it was, and bumped his knee straight into the bed frame, causing him to fall over on the floor in pain.

After writhing on the floor in agony for a good five minutes, he opened his eyes and saw a notebook under the bed. Curiousity peaked, he reached out and grabbed it. It was fairly dusty, and after Kurt blew off the dust, he could read the words scribbled on the front: _Memoirs of a Humble Dancer_.

Quite interested, he opened the book and started reading:

"_I wish I could say that our first meeting was magical. I wish I could say that the stars aligned and spark flew clear across the sky. I wish I could say that the day we first met was absolutely perfect._

_Far from it actually."_

* * *

Mike trudged through the front door with countless bags of miscellaneous food items in his arms. He grunted as he made his way down the hall and set them down on the front counter where his mom was quietly waiting for him.

"Ugh! Here you go. That's everything on the list!"

Mrs. Chang raised an eyebrow after glancing at the bags. "Did you get milk?"

Mike opened his mouth to say, 'Of course!', but after thinking about it for a second, he realized that he had forgotten and face palmed himself, hard, on the forehead. He had just spent two hours at the store, gathering everything his mother needed, well almost everything, in an hour and a half and waiting in line at the single open register for another half-hour.

Mrs. Chang smiled and patted her freakishly tall son on his head. "It's okay, we can get some later." She proceeded to unload the bags of necessary food stuffs when she remembered something. "Oh, by the way, Kurt's in your room cleaning up a bit."

At that name, Mike perked up and practically sprinted up the stairs and into his room. He planned on tackling the smaller teen and smothering him with kisses, expecting Kurt to be wearing rubber gloves and an apron as he usually does when he comes over to 'tidy up' and to see his room immaculate as it always is after Kurt has his way with it. Instead, Mike froze at the sight before him. Not only was his room still half messy (not the outrageous part), but Kurt was sitting **_on_** his mess of a bed, right in the middle of it all with his legs crossed and reading Mike's journal.

...

Reading. Mike's. JOURNALLLL?

Mike's head exploded. He instantly dove for the book, attempting to get it back, but Kurt Hummel was too fast for him, still a ninja like always, and quickly did a series of movements that ended with Kurt sitting on top of Mike and his arms, making him completely immobile. And Kurt didn't even look up.

As Mike struggled beneath him, Kurt smirked. "You and I both know that it's useless."

Evidently, it was. No matter how hard Mike tried, he couldn't get out from under the sheer weight of Kurt pressing down on him, which was surprisingly very intense. And while Mike continued to shift and struggle, Kurt just sat there reading the sweetest words ever written about him and sighing with awe and admiration. Mike, of course, was completely oblivious to this, as the only thoughts in his head were: "Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy Crap!"

This situation continued for another half hour or so, and by that time, Kurt had gotten to the beginning of Junior year, right around the time Kurt's dad was in the hospital. Mike had given up the fight about fifteen minutes ago and was just lying there in agony that seemed to intensify with every second. Suddenly, Mike found a hidden reserve of energy and managed to throw Kurt off of him. Kurt went flying and landed on a pile of clothes that had been sitting on the floor. Mike got up and attempted to lunge at the smaller boy, but Kurt was already out the door, nose still buried in the book, by the time Mike could act.

Mike went into the hall and looked around. There was absolutely no sign of Kurt anywhere. He literally turned his entire upstairs family room upside down, then proceeded to the other rooms upstairs before flying down the steps and checking every possible place downstairs as well. He zoomed past his mom in the kitchen, who just continued cooking and laughing at the thought that this situation reminded her of a very similar situation that happened years ago when he and Matt Rutherford were around ten years old ('Mike really needs to hide his journals in better places,' she thought).

After triple checking the entire house, Mike gave up and plopped down on the living room couch in defeat. He buried his hands in his face for a moment, trying to rationalize the situation. He tried to recall what he wrote in that tiny notebook those many months ago, hoping that he didn't write anything too embarrassing, but everything he remembered was all too embarrassing. All the rants about how cute Kurt was and how jealous he was of Blaine and Finn at one time or another just made him cringe.

*ahem*

Mike looked up to see Kurt Hummel standing there, journal in one hand, other on his hips, with the sweetest smile on his face and a slight glint of tears in his eyes. Mike shot up and instantly opened his mouth to try and explain himself, but nothing came out. Kurt just shook his head and chuckled a bit and came in closer. He rested his hand on Mike's shoulder, guiding him to sit down as he knelt in front of him and handed him the journal. Mike looked down at it, checking it for some odd reason, but Kurt used his hand to raise Mike's chin so that their eyes met, faces inches away from each other. Kurt then gently cupped Mike's face, his touch sending shivers down Mike's spin and then back up to his brain, causing everything to go numb and hazy. Then Kurt kissed him with so much tenderness and so much passion and yearning that Mike felt as if his whole body was going to overheat.

When they finally broke the kiss, Mike instantly fell back on the couch and stared off in a very, VERY, intense daze.

"Wow." That's all that he could say.

Kurt rolled his eyes and pulled Mike back up by the shirt so that their eyes could meet again. Kurt put one hand on the journal. "This has to be the sweetest thing that I have ever read in my entire life."

Mike couldn't help but blush, look down, and shift awkwardly, just like a seven year old who had their first crush. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think of what to say. "Yeah... well... you know... "

Kurt smiled, put his hands on the back of Mike's neck, and held his face like a centimeter away from Mike's. "I love you so much right now."

Mike smiled. "I love you too."

Then they kissed one more time, forgetting that Mike's mother was in the next room beating some eggs for some fried rice or something. A few seconds passed, and she was about to cough to break the two apart when Mike's dad just walked in. He didn't even need to cough. His aura just sent a signal to both the hormonal teenagers practically eating each other's faces in the middle of the family room. Kurt and Mike just stared at Mr. Chang giving them a very awkward and intense leer that made an already awkward situation even more awkwardly awkward...

...

awkward...

...

After a couple more seconds, Mr. Chang just shook his head. "Yeah, I can get used to the idea of my son being in love with another man, but I can NEVER get used to seeing that every day." Mike and Kurt just blushed. Mr. Chang shrugged and walked away, shuffling in his pocket as if he were looking for something. When Mike and Kurt thought he was gone, they laughed for a bit before a box flew across the room and hit Mike straight in the eye. "Don't forget to use protection!"

...

And the embarrassment just had to continue...

* * *

The streets of New York were bustling with shoppers. It was the first week of December, and shoppers were endlessly hustling and bustling from store to store in excitement, anticipation, and stress. The holidays were fast approaching, yet despite all the chaos, everything just seemed right. The Christmas feeling of joy and laughter filled the air as carolers sang and men dressed as Santa Claus rang bells asking for donations to charity, which were well responded to this year. The lights and decor of every store just intensified the feeling as coffee shops and bakeries wafted the smell of gingerbread and mocha to attract customers. For most people, it really was the perfect time of year.

For most people.

Rupert Landon silently walked down the street. The cold hadn't been as intense this year in New York; it barely reached freezing, but Rupert felt endless chills up his spine as he walked. It was so cold. So cold.

With every step, the chills just grew worse, and a pain in his heart grew more intense, causing his ears to ring louder and louder. His sadness had brought him so much pain that he couldn't even keep his eyes open. Tears started to form in his eyes, and before he knew it, he was running. Running from his problems. Running from hate. Running from everything that tormented him until...

BAM!

Rupert fell backwards and landed flat on his behind. The fall wasn't too bad, but the pain still persisted. he just sat there for a moment, paralyzed in sadness until he heard a voice.

"Are you okay, young man?"

Rupert looked up. A tall, smartly dressed Asian man stood above him holding out his hand in an attempt to help Rupert up. Despite all the distorting colors around him, the man's dark, chocolate colored eyes were the first thing that caught Rupert's eyes. They held so much warmth and vivaciousness that made Rupert weak in the knees and blush.

In a daze, Rupert took the man's hand and got up, never breaking contact with those captivating eyes, and nodded. "Yeah, ahem, yes sir, I'm fine. Thank you."

The man smiled. "It's no trouble, no trouble at all."

Then something caught the man's eye. "Are you okay, young man?"

Rupert suddenly remembered he was crying. He wiped his tears from his face and shook his head. "Oh, yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm..." Rupert couldn't bare to finish. He most certainly was NOT fine, and he couldn't bring himself to lie again.

The man looked at the boy curiously. "You look like you need someone to talk to."

Rupert was about to decline, not wanting to seem weak, but he couldn't help but nodded sheepishly.

The man patted the boy on the back and gestured to the side. "Come on, I'll buy you a hot chocolate or something."

They went inside a Barnes & Noble and walked to the line at Starbucks. Surprisingly, the line was pretty short, so the two ordered a couple of hot chocolates and sat down at a nearby table. They sat there for a couple of moments before the man spoke again.

"So what's troubling you?"

The boy sighed. "Normally, I wouldn't be dumping my feelings out on a complete and total stranger but..." Rupert got slightly choked up. "I have no where else to go."

The man offered the boy a handkerchief. Rupert took a moment to compose himself. After a deep breath, he looked at the man. "I-I just recently... c-came out to my family."

Rupert braced himself for a disgusted look or an awkward reaction from the man, but he just sat there, listening intently with an empathetic look on his face. Rupert was slightly surprised, but then continued.

"They-They didn't take it to well." At those words, Rupert flashed back to a few moments earlier, a slap to the cheek, and touched the spot on his face where it still stung as if it had just occurred.

The man just took a sip of his hot chocolate and sighed. "Yes, well, I've been there."

The boy shot a surprised look. "Really?" The man nodded. "But you don't look..."

The man smirked. "Gay? Really?"

Rupert blushed at his outburst. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I mean... Um... You're very handsome!"

Rupert would have face palmed, but he was too frozen with embarrassment to do so. The man just smiled and laughed softly. "It's okay, It's okay. I get it. You're a little frazzled right now, and I can understand why. Coming out is not an easy thing, especially if your parents are... less than receptive to the idea."

Rupert looked down. "It's funny. Just last week we were laughing and joking in front of the TV, having fun, and now, well, they sort of kicked me out."

The man sighed again. "Like I said, I've been there. Do you have any place to stay?"

Rupert nodded. "Yes, I have a friend who has a spare room. He says his mom doesn't mind. He's cool like that. I mean, I've known him for forever, so..."

The man smiled. He examined Rupert with a knowing gaze that made Rupert's heart thump louder and louder.

"Listen," the man said. "I know it may be hard to believe someone when they say 'I know how you feel,' but I really do know how you feel. You see, about five-six years ago, I was in the same boat. Young, gay, kicked out on the streets and hating every minute of my life. I was lucky, though, because I had friends who completely supported me through it all and luckier still because my parents actually warmed up to the idea shortly afterwards."

Rupert's eyes caught a glint of hope. "It's not an easy road, but it's been braved countless times before. Right now, life may seem bleak and horrible, but it really does get better. I know that's cliche and outdated, but really, it does. I went from being kicked out of my house to getting a full scholarship to Julliard."

Rupert's eyes sparkled again. "Julliard? Really?"

The man smiled. "Yes, really. Are you interested in Julliard?"

"Yes! Of course! I love performing! I mean, I'm still a freshman, but I mean, I would love to go to Julliard."

"Freshman, huh? So you must be, what? 14? 15?" Rupert nodded. "Well, you have plenty of time to sort things out. Just keep at it and I'm sure you'll be fine."

The man looked down and rummaged through a large coat pocket. He pulled out a hard cover book: _Memoirs of a Humble Dancer: A Coming Out and Coming of Age Story by Michael Chang_

The man gave it to the boy. "I wrote that mostly in high school and recently got it published. I've been that lonely insecure boy that everyone talks about when they come out, and I just can't bear to think that there are more people out there feeling the same things that I felt, because they were horrible, horrible things. Just read this book and know that it gets better."

Mr. Chang got up. "I'm sorry I couldn't talk more, but I have an audition to go to."

Rupert got up too. "Oh, of course, of course." He paused. "Thank you so much, by the way."

Mike put his hand on Rupert's shoulder. "No problem. If you ever need any advice, whether it's about Julliard or just life in general, my number's in there."

Rupert raised an eyebrow. "Do you have this ready just in case you meet a nice guy or something?"

Mike laughed. "No, I just happened to have that in my pocket today." He smiled. "Take it easy, okay?"

Rupert nodded. As Mike left the store, Rupert couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Rupert walked down the summer streets of New York with a spring in his step. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and... well the sewers still stunk like crazy, but hey, it is New York.

Rupert couldn't help but smile though, as he walked hand in hand down the street on this lazy after noon with Brandon. His Brandon. His sweet, sarcastic, lazy Brandon. Why he ever fell for that pasty pale skin or those dreamy cerulean eyes was beyond him, but hey, c'est la vie.

As they continued to walk, something caught his eye as he passed a bunch of posters on a wall. He backtracked and stood amazed at what he saw. It was a poster for a new musical production of _Singing in the Rain_, one of Rupert's favorite musicals. But what really caught his eye was the name headlining the poster and the photo of an extremely attractive man on the front.

Brandon came back over. "Hey what's keeping you?" As Rupert pointed him to the poster, the name caught Brandon's eye. "Michael Chang? Isn't that the guy you ran into who wrote that book that you love?"

"Yeah! Oh my gosh, we have to see it! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

As Rupert jumped up and down, Brandon laughed. "Okay, Okay! You madman! I'll take you to see it!"

"Yay! Who has the best boyfriend ever?"

Brandon made a mock-pensive face. "Hmmmm... You?"

Rupert smiled. "You know it."

Then Brandon kissed him square on the lips.

Yep, it most certainly does get better.

The End!


End file.
